MIAMI (AP) — A security guard filed suit against Kasey Kahne seeking damages for "severe physical injuries" when the NASCAR driver allegedly shoved him to the ground at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Archibald Hutchinson is seeking unspecified damages in excess of $15,000 in the suit filed Tuesday in the 11th Circuit Court.
Kahne is due in court Jan. 8 to answer charges of misdemeanor battery stemming from the Nov. 16 incident. The maximum sentence for misdemeanor battery is one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
He had no comment on the suit, but Rick Russell, president of Gillett Evernham Motorsports, said the team supports its driver.
"The alleged action in this case is not consistent with the Kasey Kahne we know," Russell said. "It is unfortunate the issue has progressed to this point. We support our driver, Kasey Kahne, and have complete confidence in the legal process."
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Hutchinson and a Monroe County deputy sheriff stopped a golf cart carrying Kahne and his brother as they attempted to enter the motorhome lot at Homestead, and asked for credentials. Kahne was wearing a driver suit.
"One of the occupants of the vehicle wearing a bright-colored jumpsuit became belligerent and refused to produce ID," Hutchinson said in his police report.
Hutchinson claimed Kahne used profane language and then pushed his brother's foot off the accelerator pedal of the golf cart, attempting to drive past. The guard claims Kahne then got out of the golf cart and "without saying another word shove(d) me with great force from which I landed on my back and left shoulder on the entrance pavement."
Kahne's brother, Kale, disputed the events in his statement to police. Kale Kahne said his brother did not have a credential because he'd just finished practice.
"He (Kasey) said, 'I am going to walk to my motor home then,"' Kale Kahne wrote. "One guard got in front of Kasey and grabbed him and said that you are not going anywhere. … Kasey pushed his hands off of him. The guard lost balance and fell to the ground."
Four witnesses, all law enforcement officers, gave statements that supported Hutchinson and accused Kahne of shoving the guard.
Hutchinson was treated and released from the track's infield care center.
