Ontario Co. (NY) District Attorney
Michael Tantillo has issued a written statement at this hour, saying he will
forward the results of an investigation into the death of Sprint Car driver
Kevin Ward, Jr., to a Grand Jury.
The statement read:
“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 witness’s 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 written statement today, 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.”
NASCAR Chief Communications Officer Brett Jewkes said of
the decision, “We are aware of the completed investigation and the
announced next steps. 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.”
Wasn't Expecting That....
ReplyDeleteThis doesn't sound good. :(
ReplyDeleteIn my oppion it was an accident and that is what should be ruled in this case! God Bless You Tony my prayers are with you and the HELL you have to be going thru has to be the most stressful thing I CAN NOT IMAGINE!! Hang in there Buddy everything will work out... If a negative result comes out of this my belief is that this was merely an accident and you would NEVER do anything to hurt another human being!! God Bless You Tony.. A beloved Fan For Life Tamara Estes!! tamarae@myfairpoint.net
ReplyDeleteI'm still a believer in "innocent until PROVEN guilty". This sounds to me like "due process" running it's course. Could you imagine the out cry of "cover up" if the D.A. didn't turn this over to a grand jury? I know this whole investigation is painfully slow but better this way than the old "rush to judgment". We've had enough of that in the court of public opinion.
ReplyDeleteGrand Jury seems to make sense. Easiest route for law enforcement. No one needs to make a decision. The public will decide. No matter the outcome only Tony will know for sure what happened.
ReplyDeleteI can not believe the DA would bring this to a grand jury ! This whole thing is turning into a mess . If anyone feels stewart hit kevin on purpose they need there head examined ! PS im not a stewart fan .
ReplyDeleteYes, this is a complete cop-out. Nobody gets egg on their face when its an anonymous group making the call. Neither Tony's camp or the Ward camp can pistol whip the DA when the DA passes the buck. #Weak
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anonymous 2 and 3. Much as I want this to be over -- realizing that it will never be truly "over" for those directly involved -- it does make sense and is "appropriate" to go this route. Since grand juries are anonymous, nobody should get the full blame for the decision made and hopefully, the black helicopters will be grounded.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a lawyer and don't know much about Grand Juries, but I would think this was a given. Any one person making a decision on this matter would be ridiculed for life by either Kevin Ward Fans or Tony Stewart fans. This way, no one person has to suffer the abuse the media will inflict upon the decision makers.
ReplyDeleteMy hope is that the decision makers go in with an open mind and open heart to listen to reason and facts. God Bless anyone involved in this tragedy.....no winners in the end. Both sides will be effected for eternity.