By alley - Aug 7, 2015, 6:31 PM ET

Stewart faced with lawsuit over crash

The family of a sprint car driver killed in a crash involving Tony Stewart last year has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion.

Twenty-year-old

Kevin Ward Jr died

when he walked onto the track at Canandaigua Motorsports Park to remonstrate with Stewart after the pair had clashed, and was hit by Stewart's rear wheel.

The suit, which was filed on Friday - two days before the first anniversary of the August 9 crash - claims that Stewart acted with gross negligence by gunning his engine as he was passing Ward, causing the rear of the car to skid and hit him.

Stewart was later spared a criminal indictment by a grand jury, however Ward's family has requested a jury trial and is seeking unspecified monetary damages.

"Kevin Ward would be alive today if not for the reckless and dangerous actions of Tony Stewart, who eventually will have to answer for what he did," the family's lawyer, Mark Lanier, told the Associated Press.

Originally on Autosport.com