The family of driver Kevin Ward slammed a U.S. grand jury's decision this week not to charge three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart with the death of their son.
Despite the ruling, Ward's family said to the media that it will "pursue all remedies."
"The focus should be on the actions of Tony Stewart and not Kevin. The matter is not at rest and we will pursue all remedies, in fairness to Kevin," the family said to ESPN.
Stewart, 43, one of the biggest names in auto racing, hit and killed Ward, 20, during a non-NASCAR sprint-car race on Aug. 9 at the Canandaigua Motorsports Park track.
Stewart and Ward bumped cars during the race and the collision sent Ward into an outside retaining wall while Stewart remained in the race.
Ward jumped from his car in an attempt to confront Stewart during the caution period. When Stewart's car came around the next lap, Ward pointed at Stewart. As Stewart reached Ward, his car seemed to swerve, hitting Ward and throwing him 50 feet.
Toxicology reports showed that Ward had been under the influence of marijuana during the incident.
"Our son got out of his car during caution, while the race was suspended," the family said.
"All other vehicles were reducing speed and not accelerating except for Tony Stewart, who intentionally tried to intimidate Kevin by accelerating and sliding his car towards him, causing this tragedy."
Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo said authorities submitted possible charges of manslaughter in the second degree and criminally negligent homicide against Stewart and the grand jury.
Tantillo said almost two dozen people testified before the grand jury, including other race car drivers, medical personnel, and racetrack employees.
"After listening to and questioning all of the witnesses and reviewing all of the evidence, the grand jury has determined that there is no basis to charge Tony Stewart with any crimes. His case was therefore 'No-Billed' by the grand jury," Tantillo said.
Two videos of the incident were also studied.
"The videos actually did not demonstrate any aberrational driving by Tony Stewart until the point of impact with Kevin Ward, at which point his vehicle veered to the right up the track, as a result of the collision," Tantillo said. "Prior to that, his course was pretty straight."
Stewart, part owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, said the incident was "the toughest and most emotional experience of my life, and it will stay with me forever."
"I respect everything the district attorney and sheriff's office did to thoroughly investigate this tragic accident. While the process was long and emotionally difficult, it allowed for all the facts of the accident to be identified and known," Stewart added.
Ward died from massive "blunt trauma" after being struck by Stewart's race car and dragged down the dirt track.
A week after the accident, NASCAR introduced a rule that forces drivers to remain in their cars until a track safety official tells them they can exit.
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