Tony Stewart not charged in death of Kevin Ward Jr.

Tony Stewart will not face criminal charges in Kevin Ward Jr.'s death, a grand jury in upstate New York decided.

The Ontario County District Attorney's office took the evidence in Stewart's case to a grand jury, which found there was no basis for criminal charges, D.A. Michael Tantillo announced Wednesday.

Tantillo said toxicology reports revealed that Ward was under the influence of marijuana at a high enough level to impair judgment.

Tantillo said there were two charges submitted for consideration by the grand jury against Stewart: manslaughter in the second degree and criminally negligent homicide. He said neither received the necessary 12 votes from the grand jury to charge Stewart. The grand jury heard the evidence and testimony from two dozen witness (including drivers, track employees, medical personnel and two accident experts) "over the better part of two days" and deliberated for less than an hour before reaching the decision, Tantillo said.

Tantillo said Stewart was presented the opportunity to testify but wouldn't confirm whether he did.

Tantillo said two videos of the incident were examined, a clip that went viral on YouTube and another from the racetrack. The videos were run at 75%, 50% and 25% speed and overlaid with grids and data and "were an important piece of the evidence," Tantillo said. "The videos did not demonstrate any aberrational driving by Tony Stewart until the point of impact with Kevin Ward, at which point his vehicle veered to the right up the track as a result of the collision. Prior to that, his course was pretty straight."

Tantillo said there was no toxicology performed on Tony Stewart, but that a certified drug recognition expert interviewed him on the night of Ward's death and determined no basis for alcohol consumption or drug impairment.

Tantillo added that, "the grand jury was never tasked with the responsibility of anything other than to determine whether there was enough evidence to file charges against Tony Stewart. They weren't considering whether anybody else was at fault. However, I'm sure from their deliberations and discussions that the fact that Kevin Ward was observed running basically two-thirds of the track into a hot track in the middle of other cars that still were racing played a big, big factor in their decision."

Asked why he submitted the case to a grand jury, Tantillo said, "There were probably several reasons. When I reviewed the investigation that had been prepared by the sheriff's department, it was clear a number of the witnesses interviewed had different perspectives on what they'd seen and heard. There were varying versions of what had actually taken place. There was not one clear monolithic story that was presented to me. Additionally, several of the important witnesses chose not to make statements to the police. They did not want to make any statements, so the only way I could find out what they had to say or offer was to subpoena them and compel them to testify, which I did. Finally when you have a case of this magnitude and this interest, I think it's important that the public knows that a large group of citizens drawn at random from the community heard all the evidence in the case and collectively returned a judgment."

Later Wednesday, the Ward family indicated it was not satisfied with the decision to clear Stewart and said it will "pursue all remedies in fairness to Kevin."

In a statement provided to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, Ward Jr.'s mother Pam said the "matter is not at rest."

"Our son got out of his car during caution while the race was suspended," she said. "All the other vehicles were reducing speed and not accelerating, except for Tony Stewart, who intentionally tried to intimidate Kevin by accelerating and sliding his car toward him, causing the tragedy.

"The focus should be on the actions of Mr. Stewart and not my son."

Pam Ward had no comment on the toxicology report that found her son had enough marijuana in his system to impair his judgment. She did not answer questions aside from the statement.

Stewart still could face a civil suit from Ward's family.

The grand jury's decision is a major relief to both Stewart and the NASCAR community, which has been under a cloud since Stewart struck and killed Ward in an Aug. 9 sprint car race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park.

Tantillo said approximately two dozen witnesses testified. Two videos, photos and "other documentary evidence" also were reviewed.

"After listening to and questioning all of the witnesses, and reviewing all of the evidence, the grand jury has determined that there is no basis to charge Tony Stewart with any crimes; his case was "No-Billed" by the grand jury," Tantillo said in a statement released prior to his press conference.

All along, statements from Stewart-Haas Racing referred to Ward's death as an "accident." Now, it's clear the 23-member grand jury agreed there wasn't sufficient evidence to suggest Stewart was negligent.

This means Stewart, 43, can move forward with his racing career knowing SHR -- which he co-owns -- and his sponsorship situation stands to remain intact.

The finding is consistent with the initial statements by Sheriff Phillip Povero, who said there was no evidence to suggest any wrongdoing on Stewart's part.

But doubts about Stewart's future began to increase when the sheriff announced twice -- on Aug. 12 and Aug. 29 -- that the investigation would continue at least another two weeks.

On Sept. 11, when Povero turned over the results of the investigation to Tantillo, he also said the evidence included a forensic video enhancement recently received from the New York State Police Laboratory in Albany, N.Y. Five days later, Tantillo announced he was submitting the case to a grand jury to determine if there was enough evidence to charge Stewart.

Stewart: Racer, owner, philanthropist

Stewart has been a star in U.S. racing for nearly two decades. After becoming only the second driver to win the USAC triple crown (three prestigious open-wheel championships in the same season), he made his Indianapolis 500 debut in 1996 and led the first 31 laps before a mechanical failure. He won the Indy Racing League title the next season while he began racing part time in stock cars.

He made the full-time move to NASCAR's premier series in 1999 and was named rookie of the year with three victories (becoming the first rookie to win in 12 years).

He led the circuit in victories in 2000 (six) and '11 (five) and captured his first championship in 2002. That season also was among the most tumultuous of his career. Stewart nearly lost his ride at Joe Gibbs Racing for striking a photographer after a 12th-place finish at the Brickyard 400.

The Columbus, Ind., native won another title in 2005 and left JGR after the 2008 season to become a co-owner of the rebranded Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart won his third championship in '11, and the team expanded to a third car in 2012 with Danica Patrick, who moved full time to Cup the next year. Kevin Harvick (replacing Ryan Newman) and Kurt Busch were added this season, making SHR a four-car team with among the largest budgets in the series.

A stake in NASCAR ownership was the latest addition to the burgeoning business portfolio of Stewart, who has spent much of the past decade expanding the reach of his racing empire. Tony Stewart Racing fields championship-caliber teams in the World of Outlaws and USAC series, and Stewart also owns fabled Eldora Speedway, which played host to the Camping World Truck Series the past two seasons (marking the return of a NASCAR national series to its first dirt track in 43 years), and co-owns Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway and Macon (Ill.) Speedway.

Stewart, who is single, also has been heavily involved in philanthropy. He formed the Tony Stewart Foundation in 2003 to help chronically ill children, at-risk animals and drivers injured while racing. He has supported several NASCAR-affiliated charities (donating $1 million to the Victory Junction Gang Camp in 2008). He visited hospitalized fans after a February 2013 Nationwide crash at Daytona International Speedway sent debris into the frontstretch stands, hurting more than two dozen.

Moonlighting in sprint cars

He suffered a setback last August, breaking his right leg during a sprint car race and missing the final 15 races of 2013.

His season-ending crash at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa was his third sprint car accident in as many weeks that summer. He was involved in a multi-car crash at Canandaigua Motorsports Park -- the same track where Ward Jr. was killed -- that sent two drivers to the hospital, but Stewart was unhurt. He also flipped his car at Ohsweken Speedway, a dirt track in Ontario, Canada. He raced the next night at the same track and finished fifth.

Stewart's injury that summer came at a time when the spotlight on drivers who moonlight was brighter because of a spate of deaths and injuries. That June, former NASCAR driver Jason Leffler, a close friend and former roommate of Stewart's, died after a sprint car crash.

The fall of 2013 marked just the second time NASCAR didn't have its three-time champion in its run to the championship.

After three surgeries and countless hours of physical therapy, Stewart returned to his No. 14 Chevrolet for the season-opening 2014 Daytona 500 in February but struggled through the regular season, going winless and climbing to a high of 12th in the points standings with a best finish of fourth. He returned to racing dirt cars July 18 at Tri-City Motor Speedway in Auburn, Mich. He won that feature race and finished third in an event the following night at Crystal Motor Speedway in Crystal, Mich.

Ward Jr.'s death

He was racing in the Empire Super Sprints Series at a half-mile dirt oval in Canandaigua, N.Y., (30 minutes southeast of Rochester) on the night Ward was killed. Ward and Stewart were battling for position midway through the feature race, and Ward hit the outside wall and spun with a flat tire.

Upset with Stewart, Ward scrambled out of his car and approached his car under caution while gesturing angrily. After being struck, he was dragged and then thrown from beneath the wheel, and his lifeless body landed a few dozen feet down the track.

According to the Ontario County Sheriff's Office, Ward was declared dead 45 minutes later after arriving at Thompson Hospital. Ontario County Sheriff Philip C. Povero announced his department was beginning an investigation into the incident (including a forensic re-creation of the crash), and that Stewart was being fully cooperative. Povero indicated Ward's death isn't being regarded as a criminal matter but cautioned that could change.

Stewart missed the next three Sprint Cup races and returned at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He made his only public comments there about the incident, reading a 2-minute, 30-second statement in a quavering voice that cracked a few times.

"This has been one of the toughest tragedies I've ever had to deal with both professionally and personally," he said. "This is something that will definitely affect my life forever. This is a sadness and a pain that I hope no one ever has to experience in their life. With that being said, I know that the pain and the mourning that Kevin Ward's family and friends are experiencing is something that I can't possibly imagine. I want Kevin's father, Kevin Sr., and his mother Pam, and his sisters Christi, Kayla, Katelyn to know that every day I'm thinking about them and praying for them."

Stewart didn't take questions. He ran as high as fourth in the race but crashed twice and finished 41st.

Contributing: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

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