Sheriff says no criminal charges pending against Tony Stewart

[mick silver]

Sheriff says no criminal charges pending against Tony Stewarthttp://blu.stb.s-msn.com/i/db/f95d7360089503ea57df11079b391/_h608_w1080_m6_otrue_lfalse.jpg

5 hr ago By Tom Jensen of FOX Sports share
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A day that began when authorities announced Tony Stewart will not face criminal charges right now continued with statements from both parties, an emotional day at Watkins Glen, and FOX Sports 1 legal analyst Rob Becker stating he anticipates Stewart to face a second-degree manslaughter charge.
In a news conference shortly after 3 p.m. ET Sunday, Ontario County (N.Y.) Sheriff Phillip C. Povero said, "At this moment there are no facts or evidence that would support a criminal charge or criminal intent."
During a sprint car race at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Motorsports Park on Saturday night, Stewart and 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr. crashed, and under caution Ward got out of his car and walked toward Stewart's car, gesturing at Stewart. As Stewart's car approached Ward, Stewart's right-rear wheel hit Ward, who was thrown into the air and died as a result of the contact.
Povero said Stewart was "visibly shaken" and had been cooperative in the investigation. Authorities were asking spectators and others to turn over any video they recorded of the crash.
"This is right now being investigated as an on-track crash, and I don't want to infer that there are criminal charges pending," Povero said. "When the investigation is completed, we will sit down with the district attorney and review it. But I want to make it very clear: There are no criminal charges pending at this time."
The sheriff's office is examining videos from fans who were in attendance and also is awaiting formal autopsy results.
According to The Associated Press, investigators were working to reconstruct the crash and studying both the "dim lighting on a portion of the track to how muddy it was, as well as if Ward's dark firesuit played a role in his death, given the conditions."
Driver Cory Sparks, a friend of Ward's who was a few cars back when Ward was hit, spoke to the AP.
"The timing was unsafe," he said of Ward's decision to get out of his car to confront Stewart. "When your adrenaline is going, and you're taken out of a race, your emotions flare."
Earlier Sunday, Stewart-Haas Racing competition director Greg Zipadelli announced at a news conference that Stewart would not race in the day's Cheez-It 355 at the Glen — Watkins Glen is about an hour drive from Canandaigua. Instead, Stewart — still in need of a victory to clinch an appearance in the Chase — was replaced by veteran Regan Smith. After a nice run Sunday, Smith wrecked late and finished 37th.
After the race, it was clear the events from Saturday — and more specifically the Ward family — were on drivers' minds at Watkins Glen. Hear race winner AJ Allmendinger's thoughts after the race.
Earlier in the day, Stewart issued the following statement:

"There aren't words to describe the sadness I feel about the accident that took the life of Kevin Ward Jr. It's a very emotional time for all involved, and it is the reason I've decided not to participate in today's race at Watkins Glen. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and everyone affected by this tragedy."

Ward's family also issued a statement, saying, "We appreciate the prayers and support we are receiving from the community, but we need time to grieve and wrap our heads around all of this."
Later Sunday, Becker said on FOX Sports 1 that he believed charges will eventually be filed against Stewart once all of the evidence is considered. You can watch all of Becker's appearance here:

[mick silver]

NASCAR's Stewart hits, kills driver on NY trackhttp://l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/04/21/image001-png_162613.png (http://www.ap.org/) August 10, 2014 9:39 AM











CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. (AP) — Three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart struck and killed a sprint car driver who had climbed from his car and was on the darkened dirt track trying to confront Stewart during a race in upstate New York on Saturday night.
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Kevin Ward Jr. had crashed following contact with Stewart one lap earlier and got out of his car as it was stopped along the fence. Video of the incident showed Ward walking from his crashed car onto the racing surface as cars circled by, and, as he gestured at Stewart's passing car, he was struck.
Authorities questioned Stewart but said no criminal charges were imminent. Stewart traveled to Watkins Glen International following the incident and planned to race in Sunday's NASCAR event.
Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero said Stewart was "visibly shaken" and had been cooperative in the investigation. Authorities were asking spectators and others to turn over any video they recorded of the crash.
"This is right now being investigated as an on-track crash and I don't want to infer that there are criminal charges pending," Povero said. "When the investigation is completed, we will sit down with the district attorney and review it. But I want to make it very clear: there are no criminal charges pending at this time."
NASCAR said it would not prevent Stewart from racing Sunday, and his team appeared to be trying to focus on the track.
View gallery
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(http://news.yahoo.com/photos/april-11-2014-photo-tony-stewart-stands-garage-photo-055922414.html)In this April 11, 2014, photo, Tony Stewart stands in the garage during practice for a NASCAR Sprint …

"We're business as usual today," said Greg Zipadelli, competition director for Stewart-Haas Racing, a four-car NASCAR organization that is co-owned by Stewart.
A witness said it appeared Ward was trying to confront Stewart, the three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. The video showed Ward standing to the right of Stewart's familiar No. 14 car, which seemed to kick out from the rear and hit him.
Moments earlier, Ward and Stewart were racing side-by-side for position as they exited a turn. Ward was on the outside when Stewart, on the bottom, seemed to slide toward Ward's car and crowd him toward the wall. The rear tire of Stewart's car appeared to clip the front tire of Ward's car, and Ward spun into the fence.
Povero said Ward, who was wearing a black firesuit and black helmet, had walked into the racing area and one car swerved to avoid him before he was struck by Stewart.
"The next thing I could see, I didn't see (the other driver) anymore," witness Michael Messerly said. "It just seemed like he was suddenly gone."
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(http://news.yahoo.com/photos/image-provided-logan-messerly-shows-ambulances-scene-canandaigua-photo-055202323.html)This image provided by Logan Messerly shows ambulances on the scene at Canandaigua Motorsports Park …

A spokesman for Stewart's racing team called Ward's death a "tragic accident."
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends," the spokesman said in a statement. "We're still attempting to sort through all the details."
The dirt track, about 30 miles southeast of Rochester, canceled the remainder of the race and later posted a message on its Facebook page encouraging fans to "pray for the entire racing community of fans, drivers, and families."
Ward's website said he began racing go-karts in 1998 at age 4, but didn't start driving sprint cars until 2010. The 20-year-old from Port Leyden, New York, was Empire Super Sprint rookie of the year in 2012 and this year was his fifth season racing the Empire Super Sprints.
Stewart often competes in extracurricular events. The multimillionaire is known to participate in races with purses worth less than $3,000 and drive alongside drivers of varying ages and talent levels.
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(http://news.yahoo.com/photos/tony-stewart-14-drives-turns-during-qualifying-session-photo-093011815.html)Tony Stewart (14) drives through the s-turns during a qualifying session for Sunday's NASCAR Spr …

The accident Saturday came almost exactly a year after Stewart suffered a compound fracture to his right leg in a sprint car race in Iowa. The injury cost him the second half of the NASCAR season. Stewart only returned to sprint track racing last month, and won in his return, at Tri-City Motor Speedway in Michigan.
But the broken leg cost him the entire second-half of last season and sidelined him during NASCAR's important Chase for the Sprint Cup championship. Stewart wasn't cleared to get back in a race car until February, the day the track opened for preparations for NASCAR's season-opening Daytona 500 began.
"Everybody has hobbies. Everybody has stuff they like to do when they have downtime, and that's just what it is for me," he said last month following his return to sprint car racing. "That's what I like to do when I have extra time. I don't think there is anything wrong with doing it. I feel like there are a lot of other things I could be doing that are a lot more dangerous and a lot bigger waste of time with my time off do than doing that."
Stewart was a spectator at the Knoxville Nationals in Iowa on Tuesday, the one-year anniversary of the accident, and posted on his Twitter account: "Thank you to everyone that worked so hard to get me back to where I'm at today. It's your life, live it!"
Among Stewart's many business interests is his ownership of Ohio dirt track Eldora Speedway, which last month hosted the NASCAR Truck Series, and his stake in Stewart-Haas Racing, which fields cars for Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Danica Patrick.
He's struggled a bit this year since returning from his leg injury, and heads into Sunday's race winless on the season and ranked 19th in the standings.
Stewart was scheduled to start 13th on Sunday at Watkins Glen, one of just five remaining races for Stewart to either score a win or move inside the top 16 in points to grab a valuable spot in NASCAR's Chase.
The site of Saturday night's crash is the same track where Stewart was involved in a July 2013 accident that seriously injured a 19-year-old driver. He later took responsibility for his car making contact with another and triggering the 15-car accident that left Alysha Ruggles with a compression fracture in her back.
AP Auto Racing Writer Jenna Fryer and AP writer Mike Sisak contributed to this report.

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[Hillbilly]

Must be a "Tribe Member" anyone else would be in jail with no career left.

[Horn]

Bad angle


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERwHtuWmn2s

[Dogman]

The guy was an idiot to step out into the middle of the dam track no matter who was to blame.

Darwin award winner!

He joines this esteemed list!

http://www.mangozeen.com/2013/07/31/humor/2013-darwin-awards.htm

[Glass]

I think Darwin awards are only awarded for people who actually check out from stupidity. Unless there is an award for someone who is as stupid as a Darwin award recipient but fails to check themselves out while trying for the award themselves. Maybe we need an award for people who are too stupid to qualify for the Darwin award. I'm talking about the stories on the link not the sprint driver.

Was a pretty stupid thing to do, walk out there like that. Dark drive suit, dark part the of the track. Vehicles with fairly small openings to look through and they vibrate like no body's business so your vision is all shaky. Still question remains, how much did each driver contribute to the accident.

[Dogman]

I think Darwin awards are only awarded for people who actually check out from stupidity. Unless there is an award for someone who is as stupid as a Darwin award recipient but fails to check themselves out while trying for the award themselves. Maybe we need an award for people who are too stupid to qualify for the Darwin award. What, what are you smoking?

I want some!

The guy is undoubtedly and without a doubt is a prime winner of the award.

Quit standing on your head, we all know how you southern hemisphere people are!

Dam southerners!

Grin!

[7th trump]

The little 21 year old punk thought he was big enough. He didn't have the experience.....and well the rest is history.
Ego's will get you nowhere, but an ass whooping!