The investigation into the deadly crash that involved NASCAR driver Tony Stewart and the death of Kevin Ward Jr is still ongoing, but sheriff Philip Povero of Ontario County declared Monday that there no pending criminal charges to be filed as of the moment.
"At this time, there are no facts that exist that support any criminal behavior or conduct or any probable cause of a criminal act in this investigation," the sheriff stated.
"This is an open investigation. What I have just said is not indicative that the investigation is over or conclusions have been made, but that we are continuing to gather all information."
According to Povero, the ongoing investigation for the fatal crash involving a race car that was being driven by Stewart which hit and killed Kevin Ward Jr. at the Canandaigua Motorsports Park was making a lot of progress.
The autopsy report for the body of the 20-year-old victim carried out Monday by the coroner of the Ontario County ruled that the cause of death was massive blunt trauma.
Ward Jr. was hit by the car being driven by Stewart after he went out of his car and walked down the race track during a caution period. The body was fatally injured and was thrown after the huge impact.
Case investigators are examining two videos filmed by the spectators on the accident site, giving them another angle to look into aside from the one that had become viral in the video-sharing website YouTube since early morning of Sunday.
According to Povero, there was no installed in-car camera in the vehicle drove by Stewart.
Police officers returned to the accident site on Monday afternoon to examine the scene and make further observations that could help in their investigation, Povero stated.
However, the sheriff said that he still cannot speak about the results of the toxicology tests or whether the NASCAR star was tested after the incident.
Stewart and his team continue to be cooperative in the investigation procedures.
The sheriff also said that there is no specific timeline given to the investigation.
