topic Re: Tony Stewart in Community Chat

Tony Stewart

AnikaBrodie — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 20:34:08 GMT

SOURCE: CNN, 9-24-14

(CNN) -- NASCAR driver Tony Stewart won't face charges in connection with the on-track death of sprint car racer Kevin Ward Jr., a New York district attorney announced Wednesday.

Stewart, a three-time NASCAR top series champion, was driving a dirt-track car when the right rear tire hit Ward, who was walking on the track as cars slowly circled during a break in an Empire Super Sprints series race August 9 in Canandaigua, New York.

Ward, 20, died of massive blunt trauma before paramedics could get him to a hospital.

The Ontario County District Attorney, said a grand jury found no reason to charge Stewart.

"After listening to and questioning all the witnesses and reviewing all of the evidence, the grand jury has decided that there is no evidence to charge Tony Stewart with any crimes." District Attorney Michael Tantillo told reporters.

The Ontario County grand jury heard testimony from more than two dozen witnesses and reviewed photos and videos before making its decision, Tantillo added.

Re: Tony Stewart

deepwaterdotter — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 20:45:57 GMT

Thanks for posting this info.

Re: Tony Stewart

Sushismom — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 20:48:47 GMT

I'm sure this will disappoint some people. But I believe they came to the right conclusion.

Re: Tony Stewart

Moonlady — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 20:50:54 GMT

At least this information is correct. I can't tell you how many local reports I've seen during the past hour with "Tony Stewart Cleared Of Charges" emblazoned on the TV screen. Clearly, some of our local news people don't know that the grand jury does not clear people of charges, but decides whether or not they should be charged (in the event that a wimpy DA, concerned with public reaction in an election year, decides to bring a case before them).

Re: Tony Stewart

terrier3 — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 20:53:03 GMT

On 9/24/2014 Sushismom said:
I'm sure this will disappoint some people. But I believe they came to the right conclusion.

I'm glad that reviewed this very thoroughly.

Re: Tony Stewart

Moonlady — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 20:58:02 GMT

I would hope that grand juries thoroughly examine the information presented to them; that's their job.

Re: Tony Stewart

AnikaBrodie — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 21:13:52 GMT

It was reported on Fox News that Kevin Ward, Jr. was under the influence of marijuana at the time of his death. I was sorry to hear this.

Re: Tony Stewart

ical — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 21:17:36 GMT

They didn't test his blood levels (Tony). Why? They just had some guy say, "Hey, he looked okay! No prah-blum!" <--paraphrase, of course.

But the guy under the wheel? They tested his blood.

Re: Tony Stewart

Sushismom — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 21:18:18 GMT

Why any driver would think it's okay to race under the influence is beyond me. Not only do they put themselves at risk but they put other drivers at risk.

NASCAR does random drug testing. As far as I'm aware, Stewart has never failed one. And this race was prior to a Sprint Cup Series race. I doubt Stewart would take a chance. But it wasn't just "some guy"; it was a certified drug recognition expert who determined there was no basis for alcohol or drug impairment on Stewart's part.

Re: Tony Stewart

AnikaBrodie — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 21:20:48 GMT

They performed an autopsy on Kevin. I'm sure that blood testing was part of that procedure. This is the norm.

Re: Tony Stewart

deepwaterdotter — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 21:43:02 GMT

On 9/24/2014 ical said:
They didn't test his blood levels (Tony). Why? They just had some guy say, "Hey, he looked okay! No prah-blum!" <--paraphrase, of course.

But the guy under the wheel? They tested his blood.

Hence my comment on another "Tony Stewart" thread about the Sprint Car series benefitting from a random drug testing policy for the drivers.

Re: Tony Stewart

Linders Back — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 21:50:56 GMT

This was an unfortunate accident. I'm glad the Grand Jury saw it that way. I'm sure they thoroughly examined all the evidence in the past 7 weeks. They didn't come to a hasty decision.

Re: Tony Stewart

ical — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 22:49:55 GMT

Well, you can't put an advertising logo on a coffin. No profit there--poor visibility.

Re: Tony Stewart

physicsnut — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 22:53:25 GMT

On 9/24/2014 AnikaBrodie said:
They performed an autopsy on Kevin. I'm sure that blood testing was part of that procedure. This is the norm.

This is correct. It was a known fact that Ward was a user of marijuana.

This is from USA today:

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.

Re: Tony Stewart

sfnative — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 23:00:43 GMT

What they failed to mention (my source, KFI out of L.A.), was that the tox screen taken from Ward's body came back positive for marijuana.

Racing is a dangerous sport. Racing and making impaired decisions in bad light is plain _____.

I'm happy for Stewart.

p.s. CNN falls short many, many, many times in its reporting, which is why I don't watch it.

Re: Tony Stewart

scotttie — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 00:09:12 GMT

I am really happy for Tony Stewart.

Re: Tony Stewart

tansy — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 00:13:59 GMT

Was Tony Stewart really not tested as well as Kevin Ward?

Re: Tony Stewart

nunya — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 00:30:51 GMT

From the DA:

Stewart did not have to provide a blood sample and was not given any type of alcohol or drug test. Police cannot ask someone to submit to a drug test until they are charged with a crime in New York, Tantillo said.

Re: Tony Stewart

esmeraldagooch — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 00:37:37 GMT

Great news for Tony. I am sure this will help him get past this nightmare.

Re: Tony Stewart

tansy — Thu, 25 Sep 2014 00:40:05 GMT

On 9/24/2014 nunya said:
From the DA:

Stewart did not have to provide a blood sample and was not given any type of alcohol or drug test. Police cannot ask someone to submit to a drug test until they are charged with a crime in New York, Tantillo said.

Thanks, nunya. Legal then but it doesn't seem fair.