NASCAR: Tony Stewart's attorney responds to dismissal of the Ward case

Tony Stewart’s attorney thought all along he had a strong case in defending the NASCAR star from criminal charges in the death of sprint car driver Kevin Ward Jr.

But the fact Ward was under the influence of marijuana when he charged Stewart’s car on Aug. 9 undoubtedly helped a grand jury decide there was no basis for criminal charges.

“You never know what might happen in a grand jury but we felt we had a very defensible situation,” said James H. Voyles, the respected Indianapolis attorney on Wednesday afternoon en route to visit his client. “We had stop action videos, photos and witnesses and we learned of Kevin’s toxicology report during the process. We felt like it was a strong case before that.”

The 20-year-old racer banged off the fence while battling Stewart during a winged sprint car feature at Canadaigua Speedway in upstate New York. He jumped out his car and ran onto the track to confront Stewart when he was struck by the former IndyCar champ’s right rear tire and killed instantly.

After two days of testimony, it took the 23-member grand jury less than an hour to render its decision.
Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo said in a press conference Ward was under the influence of marijuana the night of the accident "enough to impair judgment." He also said two videos examined by investigators showed "no aberrational driving by Tony Stewart."

The 43-year-old veteran from Columbus, Ind. learned of the news via Voyles.

 “I called Tony as soon as we got word and he was pleased to hear of the decision, still sad for the Ward family but ready to move on with his life,” said Voyles, who befriended Stewart in the mid-90s when he co-owned 16th Street Speedway.

“It’s been a very difficult month for him and it was very gratifying to hear the decision of the grand jury.”
          
Tantillo could have determined the case on his own but last week said he would take it to a grand jury. Experts said it would have been difficult to prove criminal intent, but the prosecutor asked the grand jury to consider charges of second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

"There were not 12 votes to either charge," he said.

A civil suit from Ward’s family is still possible, although ESPN’s legal analyst Lester Munson said he doubts anyone would want to proceed with it because of Ward’s toxicology report.

• Ward family reacts to grand jury ruling