A grand jury ruled on Wednesday that Tony Stewart will not be charged in the death of Kevin Ward Jr. One of the reasons Stewart will not face charges could be that Ward was reportedly under the influence of marijuana the night Stewart hit and killed him.
According to The Associated Press, District Attorney Michael Tantillo said Ward was under the influence of marijuana “enough to impair judgment.”
[Related: Kevin Ward’s friend doesn’t think Tony Stewart hit Ward intentionally]
After looking at video from the incident and several photos from spectators, authorities determined that the front of Stewart’s car cleared Ward and that it was the rear tire that struck him. While Ward’s father implied last month that he believes Stewart intentionally hit his son, investigators apparently disagreed.
The revelation that Ward was under the influence of marijuana is a bizarre twist in a tragic story. While we have no way of knowing if drug use played a role in Ward’s decision to exit his vehicle and charge toward Stewart, the thought of someone smoking weed before driving a car at those speeds is pretty alarming.
