A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit against NASCAR driver Tony Stewart over the death of a driver he ran over during a race will remain in central New York.
The Post-Standard of Syracuse reports the judge rejected a request from Stewart's lawyers to have the case transferred from Utica to Rochester.
The family of Kevin Ward Jr. is suing Stewart over the August 2014 crash at Canandaigua Motorsports Park that killed the 20-year-old dirt track racer.
Ward had gotten out of his car after it spun out and was walking toward Stewart's approaching car when he was hit by the NASCAR veteran's vehicle.
The Ward family's lawsuit filed last month accuses Stewart of gross negligence.
Stewart's lawyers wanted the case moved 120 miles west to Rochester because many of the witnesses were closer to that city.
© 2015 AP
