Retired Sprint Car Driver Weighs-in On Stewart Accident
PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) -- So far no charges have been filed against NASCAR driver Tony Stewart in connection with a deadly crash Saturday night at a Sprint-car race in New York.
Stewart hit and killed fellow driver Kevin Ward Jr.
After the two collided, Ward climbed out of his car and onto the track, gestured towards Stewart, and was hit and killed.
The incident was caught on video by a fan and thee disturbing footage has made its way around the internet.
Some are saying Stewart did it intentionally, some say Ward should have never gotten out on the track.
Fred Locke, a retired sprint car driver, joined Bill Rehkopf on the KDKA Afternoon News.
He said he doesn't blame Ward or Stewart for the tragic accident. As far as Ward climbing out of his car and addressing Stewart, Locke said he's been in that situation before.
"The anger he might of had when he got spun, that, I understand that. And him getting out of the car and going over, I can understand that, I've done that myself."
As far as Stewart intentionally hitting Ward? Locke doesn't think so. He blames track lighting and lack of visibility from inside the car.
"If you take a look at the inside, the seat has big pads that come along the side of the drivers head... And the helmets we have today, you have no side vision out of them, so really you can't see what's going on on the side of you."
Locke, who also has a son and grandson that race sprint cars, recognizes that it's a dangerous sport.
"I'd usually always say a prayer to help God to get me through this race and stuff. And a lot of times you get in and you get out. I raced for quite a number of years, never got hurt. I was very fortunate. I had a lot of friends that [were] hurt, some [were] killed.
Fred Locke 8-11-14
(Photo Credit: Getty)
Bill Rehkopf can be heard on the Afternoon News every Monday-Friday, 3PM-7PM.
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