http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/27262470
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Very sad news,indeed.Seemingly he stepped out of his can parked on the hard shoulder of the M20 ,and was hit and ran over by a HGV ,
Probably there are quiet a lot of personal in F1 who take secrets from one team to another,and cover their tracks quiet well ,but by fair means of foul Nigel was caught out.A pity really as if F1 is your life and your banned from working in that sport ,it can be very heartbreaking
Terrible way to go. Very sad.
Sounds like it was suicide from the description. If true, I feel more sorry for the HGV driver.
sad news, but it seems like all indications point to a suicide, which makes me feel more for the HGV driver
I think the speculation is both unwelcome and unhelpful at a time where a family has lost its father/husband in a tragic incident. It could well have been an accident, the van could have broken down etc.
He has been very successful in sport cars for several years since leaving formula 1, so that would be a real surprise if this was a deliberate act due to the direction his career had taken.
The hard shoulder is an exceptionally dangerous place to be. You are advised if you stop to get out the car. Passenger side if necessary and get well away.
If you've ever followed a lorry you'll see why. It's quite common to see them drifting onto the hard shoulder - often early in the morning for obvious reasons.
Just plain sad
Nigel Stepney's life was a success , until the scandal .
I hope people remember that part .
And , I hope as well , that his own account , "Red Mist" , of the whole affair , makes it to print .
It was reportedly shopped around a number of publishers , one of which was said to be printing it , but withdrawn at the last moment , presumably due to pressure from some of those folks involved in the scandal , or , at least , the fear of litigation coming from those same folks .
Now that he's gone , perhaps his own words could go some way to explaining how a talent as great as Nigel was , could be led down such a path .
I think we all need to wait for the officials to give us more idea on what happened on that motorway .
It could have been that he was saving a puppy on the road . Stranger things have happened .
However , given the timing , not long after Domenicalli , the man who got the job for which he was hoping , quit and was replaced by a man with virtually no experience in F1 , points us in a sad direction in regards to his demise .
So sad. Poor man he knew too much about obscure F1 stories. Rest in peace.