Delaware attorney general Matt Den announced on Thursday that NASCAR driver Kurt Busch won’t been charged in the domestic abuse case he's currently faced with.
Patricia Driscoll, Bush’s ex-girlfriend accused Busch in November of assaulting her in his motor-home at Dover International Speedway last September. Busch denied the allegations in the testimony and called Driscoll a trained assassin.
NASCAR suspended Busch indefinitely two days before the Daytona 500 after a Delaware family court judge said that there was a "preponderance of the evidence" that Busch committed an act of domestic violence. On Monday Busch agreed to terms to follow to begin the reinstatement process, according to USA Today. Details of his reinstatement process haven’t been revealed but he will work with a domestic violence expert.
"After a thorough consideration of all of the available information about the case, it is determined that the admissible evidence and available witnesses would likely be insufficient to meet the burden of establishing beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Busch committed a crime during the September 26th incident," the Delaware attorney general’s office said in a statement. "Likelihood of meeting that high burden of proof is the standard for prosecutors in bringing a case. For this reason, the Department of Justice will not pursue criminal charges in this case."
Busch said in a statement that he’s grateful that prosecutors didn’t file charges against him, and thanked his legal team and everyone for their support. Driscoll, who was granted a protective order against Bush, said in a statement that she’s disappointed that full justice wasn’t served, but finds solace that she got a protective order, ESPN notes.
The protective order expires in 2016.
In addition to being suspended by NASCAR, Chevrolet has suspended its personal services agreement with Bush, who drives a Chevrolet for Stewart-Hass Racing. Busch has 25 career Sprint Cup Series wins and won the 2004 Sprint Cup Series championship, according to NASCAR.com. Regan Smith filled in for Busch in the first two races of the season, and will fill in for him again this weekend at Las Vegas.
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