Ally Marotti

amarotti@enquirer.com

The family of a 30-year-old man who died from injuries sustained in a crash at Kentucky Speedway wants answers.

"What happened? Why did it have to happen?" said Gary Leppla, a Dayton attorney representing the man's family. "It's something that should have been safe with adequate training and an adequate vehicle."

Stephen Cox, of Decatur, Indiana, died Sunday at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, according to the Hamilton County Coroner. The crash in which he sustained his injuries occurred Sept. 14 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.

But beyond that, not much is known about how Cox sustained his fatal injuries.

"We had an accident on the track," said Tim Bray, director of communications for Kentucky Speedway. "Emergency medical, they attended to him, they transported him to UC. That's all I can tell you at the moment."

Cox was participating in the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience, a driving school with which people can pay to ride in or drive race cars.

Customers can choose which experience they want, from three laps for $249 to a full 50-lap NASCAR experience for $1,899, according to the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience's website.

Leppla said Cox was driving the car. It is unclear how many laps Cox had signed up for, but he had not been on the track long when the crash occurred.

"I believe he was only on the third lap," he said.

Neither the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office nor the Kentucky State Police are investigating the crash.

The sheriff was not immediately available for comment, but an official at the office said driving schools rarely notify them of crashes.

Bill Coady, communications coordinator at the Rusty Wallace Racing Experience, declined to answer any questions other than a prepared statement, in which the company offered Cox's family condolences.

It is unclear why no law enforcement agency was notified of the crash.

Donna Harrod, administrative specialist at the Kentucky State Police, said her agency was not investigating Cox's crash either. In fact, it rarely investigates crashes that occur on the speedway.

"That would be like doing a crash report every time somebody is on the track," she said. "It is on private property and we don't do those."

But the lack of investigations have left questions unanswered.

"I don't know what their process is; there may be a jurisdictional issue there," Leppla said. "We're not critical of anyone, we're just trying to get answers."

Cox's father was with him at the track, but he did not see the crash. A Montgomery County native, Cox was living and working as a pharmacist in Decatur, Indiana. Leppla said he was visiting the speedway for a special occasion.



"The family has no plan other than right now finding out what happened," Leppla said. "Right now it's, Why did this happen?"

