Stewart continued to record throughout the remainder of the 1960s on Chess without major success. A weight problem worsened, and he developed diabetes. Stewart suffered minor injuries in a motorcycle accident in 1969. Health and death Stewart's weight caused him several health problems, culminating in diabetes, a condition that may have contributed to his motorcycle accident in 1969. He died in a broad-daylight car accident in January 1970, at age 32. The accident happened when the Ford Thunderbird that Stewart was driving approached a bridge across the Neuse River near Smithfield, North Carolina (presumably on Interstate 95). His car left the highway, ran along the median strip at a slight angle to the highway, struck the bridge abutment, and then plunged into the river, killing Stewart and his three passengers instantly. The other victims in the accident were members of Stewart's band: Norman P. Rich, 39, of Washington, D.C.; William Cathey, 32 of Charlotte, N.C.; and Rico Hightower, 22 of Newark, New Jersey. The four musicians were driving to a nightclub show in Columbia, South Carolina at the time of the wreck. The car had been purchased only 12 days before and had been driven only 1,400 miles before the accident occurred. Stewart was buried in National Harmony Memorial Park in Landover, Maryland. Lawsuit and trial Sarah Stewart, the executrix of his estate, sued Ford Motor Company on behalf of his estate, claiming mechanical failure was the cause of the accident. The first trial was won by Ford Motor Company, but on appeal the court ruled that the trial court's refusal to give the requested jury instructions was in error and ordered the case reversed and remanded. The case was then settled out of court. Musical legacy During the late 1970s and early 1980s, his music was popular among Latino, specifically Chicano, youth on the West Coast. Stewart was inducted into the Washington Area Music Association Hall of Fame in 2002. His version of "Summertime" was one of the songs featured on Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour show, and was one of the few artists Dylan actually responded about during his mainly fictitious email responses to listener questions. His version of "Summertime" was also featured in the last scene and on the soundtrack of the 2003 movie Stuck on You. His musical legacy is also being kept alive by several talented family members in his hometown of Washington D.C.