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Posted on 08/11/2014 6:21:03 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Will Tony Stewart face prison time for the collision that led to the death of another driver, Kevin Ward, Jr.?
According to Sports Illustrated legal analyst Michael McCann, it is possible.
McCann stopped short of saying that Stewart would face intentional homicide charges, but "he could face something called negligent homicide ... reckless, careless behavior that causes an accidental death."
"Because of the way [he] behaved so recklessly, [he] could be charged with a felony, and that felony carries up to four years in prison," he added.
McCann was clear in the interview that there were no pending criminal charges as of Monday afternoon, and that the discussion was speculation.
He also mentioned that more video and driver testimony could come, which could frame the possible charges that might come against Stewart.
"We don't know if other racers will give public testimony or if there are possible videos that could show more evidence against him," he said.
Looks to me like Tony Stewart bumped Kevin off the course.. Dale Earnhardt was an A**hole, too.. Stewart will get his someday just like Earnhardt did.
Sorry, buddy...when the caution comes out on a dirt track, you hold your position by catching up to the pace car...you lose yer life by running into traffic going freeway speeds.
Señor El Chodo finds you guilty of ignorance of Darwin’s Law.
The problem that Mr. Stewart has is if you asked fans who the most likely racer to mow down another racer in a fit of rage (or showmanship) in the past decade, Stewart would be right there, at the top or near the top.
...so he’s got a tough job getting out of this clean, even if he was just trying to avoid the idiot.
I think Stewart lifted off the throttle momentarily, based on the moves of the car in front of him. In a sprint car on a dirt track, lifting off the throttle will make a car drift to the right, higher on the track. Steering correction in those cars depends on throttle, so Stewart tried to reverse his rightward drift by giving the car more throttle, too late.
Compared to other oval-track racing, Sprint cars are under tenuous control. I can't imagine a worse place to get out and play in the traffic.
I look back at a bunch of times my guardian angel must have been pretty busy.
Congrats on that.....
Exactly right.
He’s got plenty of money and he’s at or close to the age of easing out of the full-time driver role. NASCAR may nudge him out.
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The sprint cars in this type of race are direct drive - meaning when the 600+HP engine is running, the car is in gear. The tires on one side are bigger, and the whole race is one really fast drift to the outside. All Tony Stewart had to do was goose the throttle right next to that kid on the track and the race car’s back end goes to the right and the young man goes flying.
I think the one real-world result of this will be that NASCAR will now impose very stiff fines and suspensions on drivers who leave their cars except in case of fire or threat of fire. Otherwise, they are safer staying in the car until help arrives. Jumping out of a car to give the finger to an opponent should involve a major fine and multi-race suspension.
I read a number of comments on “Deadspin” [experts all, no doubt] after this tragedy, however it came to be. One of them, a “tweet” I think, suggested Stewart had a “Go Pro” camera on his car and another said Stewart, allegedly, had his crew remove the right rear wheel and the left rear put in its place. What was Stewart thinking here? His intent? What might his crew say?
Hard to miss the fact that Stewart gunned the engine as he approached the kid. I’ve no idea what was in his mind and we may never but it darn sure makes me question his intent.
Agreed !:
Rule #1: Don't play in traffic
Rule #2: Don't get out of your reinforced cacoon of a car
Rule #3: Don't race at night in a black suit, and then wonder why you can't be seen
Rule #4: Don't let your attitude force you to do stupid things
RUle #5: See rule #1
i ate lunch today with an ESPN cameraman that got pulled from the race and spent all day sunday in CMS shooting LEO press conferences etc and he said he heard somebody talking about Tony having a Go-Pro in the car that night... that would go a long way showing what really happened
Agreed.
The bottom line here is that Stewart had the position and shut to door on the kid’s high side pass. Stewart was in the groove at the bottom of the track and moved up to head him off. All the kid had to do was lift. He might have lost a couple of positions, had he backed off, but he would have saved the car and potentially his life and continued a promising career.
Tony Stewart's career is over. He will never get another sponsor. He killed them both.
It will be VERY hard to sustain any kind of criminal complaint in this situation. Dirt-track cars are sliding all the time, are very unstable, and no prosecutor will try to press charges on his interpretation of a slight wiggle or acceleration or deceleration of Stewart’s car. It’s an exercise in mind-reading.
Saw the vid, the kid was throwing a mantrum like he’d been knocked out of the lead on the final lap at the Daytona 500, when in reality he was put out of some dip dunk sprint car race in Jerkwater, NY. What was the purse, a couple grand at most? Had he wanted to settle up with Stewart, he could have waited in the pits for him after the race and I’m sure Stewart would have obliged. Kid watched too many races on TV, where drama gets you paid, instead of spending time in anger management class. If you are too immature to control your temper, you should forgo hobbies that can kill you.
They have no clue about Sprint cars!
I’m not a racing fan but I see you are a Stewart hater. Nuff said....
I am not a Stewart fan, but even if he - in an instant of anger - wanted to buzz the kid, give him the auto-racing equivalent of baseball’s “chin music”, that is not the same as deliberately trying to mow him down. And how could you prove that in a court of law?
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