NASCAR: Kevin Ward Jr. Toxicology Report Could Derail Civil Suit

Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Wednesday afternoon the world found out that the grand jury had decided there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Tony Stewart with a crime in regards to the tragic accident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr. that fateful night in Upstate NY. During his press conference the DA who oversaw the case and ultimately sent it to the grand jury talked about numerous things related to the proceedings. One of the most interesting things that came out was the fact that Ward Jr.’s toxicology report did not come back clean.

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Previous to this press conference there never seemed to be a question as to whether either of the drivers was impaired by drugs or alcohol. In fact, the only questions of impairment came in regards to the lighting conditions on the track and how hard it is to see outside of the sprint cars. Earlier today the DA announced that there was a large amount of marijuana in the system of Kevin Ward Jr. at the time of the accident. When a reporter at the press conference asked a followup question about it the DA confirmed that the amount that was in his system was indeed “enough to impair his judgement.”

The news of drugs in the system of Kevin Ward Jr. at the time of the accident in interesting on two fronts.

The first front being that in today’s age it’s absolutely astounding that this information did not come out before today. This was a very high profile case that was at the center of the media for sometime. Something as important as the driver who many would say made an error in judgement initially, that driver being under the influence of anything would seem like something that would come to light much sooner than it did.

Secondly, the result of the toxicology report could hinder any plans that the Ward Jr. family has of filing a civil lawsuit against Stewart. Here are some comments made earlier today by ESPN Legal Analyst Lester Munson in regards to the toxicology report and the impact that it had and could have.

"The key evidence was the two videos and the fact that the boy was stoned at the time of the incident. The family theoretically at least has the right to file a civil law suit against Tony Stewart which they may well do. In a civil case if the young man is shown to be impaired via marijuana then that civil case will go nowhere."

Munson then went onto say that he hopes that the family does reach out to a lawyer about this matter and that they lawyer advises against filing such a suit.

What are your thoughts about the results of the toxicology report and the fact that it wasn’t released until after the grand jury hearing? Do you believe that this did indeed impair Ward Jr. during that race? Please comment below to let us know what you think.

Christopher Olmstead is the Editor of BeyondTheFlag.com on the FanSided Network. Follow us on Twitter @Beyond_The_Flag and “Like” us on Facebook.

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