A decision has finally been made after six years of evidence gathering and turmoil on the case between Tony steward and Kevin Ward Jr.
A grand jury that heard testimony from more than two dozen witnesses, including accident reconstruction experts and drivers, and looked at photographs and video has said that there will be no criminal charges filed against Stewart.
According to Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo "those videos were examined in detail. They were enhanced. They were run through programs that allow the frames to be isolated. They were run at 75, 50 and 25 percent speed. They were overlaid with grids and data and they were pretty important piece of the evidence here. "
Adding that "the videos did not demonstrate any aberrational driving by Tony Stewart until the point of impact with Kevin Ward, at which his vehicle veered to the right, up the track as a result of the collision. Prior to that his course was pretty straight."
In Stewart's statement regarding the incident he said "This is been one of the toughest tragedies I've ever had to deal with, both professionally and personally. This is something that will definitely affect my life forever. This is a sadness and a pain I hope no one ever has to experience in their life."
He was even out of a couple of races in respect to Ward's family saying "I've taken the last couple of weeks off out of respect for Kevin and his family and also to cope with the accident in my own way. t's given me the time to think about life and how easy it is to take it for granted. I miss my team, my teammates and I miss being back in the race car, and I think being back in the car this week with my racing family will help me get through this difficult time."
But incase Ward's family are going to still file a case against Stewart, they are going to have to fight a dead end battle as the toxicology evidence from Ward's autopsy "'indicates that at the time of operation he was under the influence of marijuana. The levels determined were enough to impair judgment."
