The Ontario County District Attorney's Office announced on Tuesday that a grand jury will determine if charges should be filed against NASCAR driver Tony Stewart for his involvement in a fatal accident during the Aug. 9 sprint car race at a dirt track in Upstate New York.
Stewart, a three-time champion in NASCAR's premier series, struck and killed another competitor, 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr., at Canandaigua Motorsports Park. The incident occurred during a caution when Ward climbed out of his car and then walked down the dirt track, pointing his finger in the direction of Stewart and apparently yelling at him to express his displeasure. The right rear of Stewart's car hit Ward and dragged him briefly across the track.
The caution came when Stewart and Ward made contact while battling for position, with Ward spinning out and hitting the wall.
Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo released a statement regarding the Stewart/Ward investigation, saying, "Over the past several weeks, I have reviewed with members of the Ontario County Sheriff's Department their investigation, as it progressed, in the Tony Stewart matter.
"Recently that office concluded its work and forwarded the complete case file to me. Upon my review of all of the information contained in the entire investigation, I have made the determination that it would be appropriate to submit the evidence to a grand jury, for their determination as to what action should be taken in this matter. Accordingly, the evidence developed in the investigation will be presented to an Ontario County grand jury in the near future.
"As grand jury proceedings in New York State are strictly confidential by law, I am unable to state when the matter will be scheduled, other than to state that I intend to present the matter in the near future. Similarly, because of the confidential nature of these proceedings, I cannot state who will be called as witnesses, or what any witnesss expected testimony will be. When the presentation has been completed and a determination has been made, I will advise the public and the media at that time of the results."
Stewart issued a statement as well, saying, "I respect the time and effort spent by both the Ontario County District Attorney and the Sheriff's Office in investigating this tragic accident. I look forward to this process being completed, and I will continue to provide my full cooperation."
Last Thursday, the Ontario County Sheriff's Department revealed that it had completed its investigation into the death of Ward. It noted that the entire thorough investigation, including a forensic video enhancement recently received from the New York State Police Laboratory in Albany, had been submitted to the Office of the Ontario County District Attorney for review.
Stewart missed three Sprint Cup Series races -- Watkins Glen, Michigan and Bristol -- while he was in seclusion following the incident at Canandaigua. He returned to competition the last weekend in August at Atlanta. Stewart did not qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, which began last Sunday at Chicagoland. The series will be at New Hampshire this weekend.
NASCAR is continuing to monitor Stewart's case.
"We are aware of the completed investigation and the announced next steps," NASCAR chief communications officer Brett Jewkes said in a statement. "First, our thoughts continue to be with all who have been impacted by this tragedy. We will monitor this process and stay in close contact with Stewart-Haas Racing. It would be inappropriate for NASCAR to comment on this case so we will continue to respect the process and authorities involved."
[SportsNetwork.com]
