Grand Jury to Decide Whether NASCAR's Tony Stewart Will Face Charges
A month after NASCAR driver Tony Stewart killed a fellow driver on a racetrack in upstate New York, the star sprint car driver's case will reportedly head to a grand jury where it will determined if he will face criminal charges.
Tony Stewart case will be taken to a grand jury "in near future" according to Ontario County DA office.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) September 16, 2014
The death of 20-year-old Kevin Ward, Jr. at Canandaigua Motorsports Park last month occurred when Ward exited his car following an in-race crash. Speculation about the incident intensified after video revealed that Ward seemed to be confronting Stewart about an earlier collision on the track when Stewart's car fatally struck Ward.
In a statement obtained by The Wire, Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo explained what his rationale for sending the case along to a grand jury.
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.
The county sheriff finished their investigation last week. The investigators handed over any materials and evidence to the district attorney, which included “a forensic video enhancement” of the incident, according to The Washington Post.
Stewart pledged his full cooperation. “I respect the time and effort spent by both the Ontario County District Attorney and the Sheriff’s Office in investigating this tragic accident,” Stewart said in a statement.
This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/entertainment/2014/09/grand-jury-to-decide-whether-nascars-tony-stewart-will-face-charges/380306/
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