guess that will put a stop to any civil suit also guess that will put a stop to any civil suit also and so it begins...PORT LEYDEN -- Three hours after it was revealed Kevin Ward Jr. was high on marijuana when he got out of his vehicle and was killed by a dirt-car driven by Nascar driver Tony Stewart, the Ward family says the focus should be on Stewart's actions, not their son's.
After mulling over the evidence for two days, a grand jury ruled Stewart would not be indicted on charges related to Ward's death.
But the Ward family says the matter is not at rest.
In a statement, they said:
"Our son got out of his car during caution, while the race was suspended.
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.
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."
In a news conference Thursday afternoon, Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo said his office combed through the evidence extensively, even re-creating the crash twice.
It was August 9 when Ward climbed out of his car after it spun out racing alongside Stewart in Canandaigua.
The 20-year-old star on the circuit walked down the track, waving his arms in what witnesses interpreted as an effort to confront Stewart.
An autopsy revealed Ward had enough marijuana in his system to "impair judgment," but some neighbors like Robin Kohl say they simply don't believe this.
"No I don't believe that, I do not believe that. Money talks. It's the way it is with anybody. If you have money you can get away with it. That's just the way it is. Look at what's going on right here," says Kohl.
In the tiny village of Port Leyden with no more than 700 people, this news is getting a big reaction.
Donna Post-Belmont is the grandmother of Kevin Ward Jr's girlfriend. "Tony Stewart went around the track after causing Kevin to crash, taking him out of the race and ran him over. It sounds like homicide to me," says Post-Belmont.
Brandon Baslow grew up with Ward Jr. "How don't you get reprimanded for something like that. It is beyond me. Especially on a caution. It pisses me off personally, it pisses me off really bad," says Baslow.
David Baslow lives in Port Leyden. "He should've been off the gas pedal and under that yellow caution like everybody else was. He was right into the (wall) winding it. It's wrong, it was wrong. It was wrong all the way around. Kevin didn't deserve to get run over," says Baslow.
Many neighbors say they will not accept this result - they want the case to be re-opened.
Zachary Wimer lives on Port Leyden. "Get justice for Ward, re-open the case, re-investigate it. Do something, that's not right," says Wimer.