The Ontario County District Attorney's office will take the Tony Stewart case to a grand jury, D.A. Michael Tantillo said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
Stewart struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr., 20, on Aug. 9 during a sprint car race at Canandaigua Motorsports Park.
"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," he said. "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."
Tantillo said grand jury proceedings in New York are strictly confidential and he could not say when the matter would be scheduled other than to say it would be 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," he said. "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."
In a statement, the three-time NASCAR champion said:
"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." ?
Mike Arning, director of communication for Stewart-Haas Racing, confirmed Tuesday Stewart will race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend.
