Grand jury to see evidence in Ward-Stewart case

The statement from Michael Tantillo, Ontario County District Atttorney, reads in full:

"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 statement, 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 in a statement, "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."

Last week, the Ontario County Office of the Sheriff released a statement saying its investigation into the death of Kevin Ward Jr. had been completed.

After missing three races in the immediate aftermath of the incident at Canandaigua Motorsports Park that resulted in the death of Ward, Stewart returned to the track three weeks ago at Atlanta. He has since participated in Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond and Chicagoland. Stewart is on the entry list for this weekend's race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and is expected to participate.

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