Kevin Ward Jr.'s Family Disputes Toxicology Report in Court Filing

The family of Kevin Ward Jr. has refuted the toxicology report that stated he smoked marijuana on the night he was struck and killed by a car driven by Tony Stewart in a 2014 race.

Daniel McFadin of NBC Sports provided details from the official court filing by Ward's parents, noting that Kevin and Pamela Ward “admit that a toxicology report exists that allegedly found Kevin A. Ward Jr. to have smoked marijuana within at least five hours of participating in the August 9, 2014, race. However, plaintiffs deny the validity, accuracy and admissibility of said report.”

The accident involving Stewart and Ward occurred after Ward's car hit the wall during the race and spun out, forcing him to exit the vehicle.

According to Stewart's attorney Brian Gwitt, per the Associated Press (h/t the Indianapolis Star), Stewart claimed he “did not see Ward Jr. or anyone else walking on foot on the track until just prior to contact and did not know the identity of the person walking on the track until afterward.”

In September 2014, Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo provided details of the toxicology report on the same day he announced that a grand jury had decided not to indict Stewart on charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. 

Last month, per Bob Pockrass of ESPN.com, Ward's family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Stewart, claiming he "gunned his 700-horsepower car as he drove by Ward, causing it to slide and strike Ward with the right rear tire, tossing him an estimated 25 feet."

McFadin's report noted that a trial date has yet to be set, but it will take place in a Utica, New York, federal court.