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Kevin Ward Jr. family attorney calls Tony Stewart’s version of fatal accident ‘appalling’

Tony Stewart

Tony Stewart

AP

An attorney for the family of Kevin Ward Jr. on Saturday called Tony Stewart’s account of what happened in last year’s fatal incident that resulted in Ward’s death “appalling.”

Attorney Mark Lanier, who represents Ward’s family, told The Associated Press in an email that five other drivers avoided Ward, but that Stewart “revved his engine and ran him over.”

Later Saturday, Lanier issued another statement to USA Today.

“Stewart and his lawyers should have watched the videos and listened to the audio before filing their court papers,” Lanier’s said in the statement. “If Stewart didn’t see Ward until just prior to impact, Stewart doesn’t look where he’s driving.”

Stewart’s attorneys on Friday filed papers in court giving Stewart’s side of what happened in the sprint car race in upstate New York. Brian Gwitt, one of Stewart’s attorneys, cited Ward was impaired by marijuana and that he likely would not have been killed had he not left his race car, which had wrecked on the previous lap.

Lanier told USA Today, “As for whether Ward had smoked marijuana a few days before the race, that doesn’t give Stewart the right to run Kevin over. Furthermore, Stewart never submitted to a drug test after killing Kevin.”

Ward’s family filed a civil suit against Stewart earlier this month, accusing him of gross negligence in the tragic incident at Canandaigua Motorsports Park.

A grand jury refused to indict Stewart on criminal charges last year, calling the incident “100 percent an accident.”

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