Family sues NASCAR racer for wrongful death

NEW YORK: The family of racing driver Kevin Ward, who was struck and killed by Tony Stewart during a race last year, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NASCAR driver on Friday.

Ward had exited his disabled car and was walking down the track when Stewart's car struck and killed him during a low-level dirt-track race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in New York on August 9 of last year.

The Lanier Law Firm, in a release posted on its website, said it had filed the lawsuit on behalf of Ward's parents, Kevin and Pamela, in a the fifth district of the New York state supreme court in Lowville.

Stewart is the only named defendant in the suit which says he "wrongfully caused Mr. Ward's death by acting with wanton, reckless and malicious intent and negligence."

A grand jury last year opted not to indict Stewart on criminal charges.

He missed three races in the wake of the accident, including a scheduled start in the US closed-cockpit series' top level race at Watkins Glen -- where Stewart is slated to race this weekend.

"Our son was truly the light of our lives and we miss him terribly every day," Ward's parents said through the law firm. "Our hope is that this lawsuit will hold Tony Stewart responsible for killing our son and show him there are real consequences when someone recklessly takes another person's life."

The Ontario County Sheriff's Department conducted a month-long investigation of the incident. Evidence included two videos, which prosecutor Michael Tantillo said "did not demonstrate aberrational driving by Tony Stewart."

Ward's parents have argued that Stewart intentionally tried to intimidate their son by accelerating and sliding his car toward him. - AFP