Judge orders Kurt Busch to stay away from ex-girlfriend
A Delaware judge has issued a no-contact order against Kurt Busch mandating the NASCAR driver to stay away from his ex-girlfriend, Patricia Driscoll.
The order, reported by the Associated Press, follows four days of hearings in December and January in which Driscoll accused Busch of slamming her head into a bedroom wall in September. Busch testified that Driscoll is a trained assassin. Busch and his legal team have denied Driscoll's allegations, and Driscoll has denied being an assassin.
Busch's attorney, Rusty Hardin, said in a statement on Monday that he was "deeply disappointed" by the order, which he intends to appeal.
''It is important to note that the Commissioner's ruling is a civil family court matter and totally unconnected to any criminal investigation or finding," Hardin said in the statement. "Regardless of the Commissioner's finding, we know that Kurt never committed an act of family violence."
• Truth lurks in bizarre fog of Busch's domestic violence hearings
Driscoll has also filed a criminal complaint with Dover police that is separate from the no-contact order. The Delaware attorney general's office has yet to decide whether to prosecute Busch.
The year-long order says Busch must remain away from Driscoll and not communicate with her. He also cannot buy or possess firearms or ammunition, and will face an evaluation for "mental health problems related to anger control and impulse control." Busch must stay 100 yards away from Driscoll, except "at NASCAR races and related events where closer proximity is required."
Driscoll requested the no-contact order in November after she alleged Busch slammed her head three times into a bedroom wall of his motorhome at Dover International Speedway on Sept. 26. Driscoll testified that a series of text messages from Busch led her to believe he might be depressed, prompting her to drive to Dover to visit him from her home in Maryland.
• Happily-ever-after ending unlikely in Busch's domestic violence case
In his denial of Driscoll's allegations, Busch said he repeatedly told Driscoll to leave the motorhome after she showed up unannounced a week after he broke off their relationship. Busch said he then cupped Driscoll's cheeks with her hand and told her that she needed to leave.
Busch, 36, also testified that Driscoll previously told him she was a "mercenary who killed people for a living." Busch also said Driscoll had shown him pictures of bodies with gunshot wounds.
Driscoll discredited Busch's allegation as "ludicrous," saying he took the notion of her being an assassin "straight from a fictional movie script" she had been working on for eight years.
Driscoll, 37, is president of the Armed Forces Foundation, a non-profit supporting active duty military members and veterans from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. She has also worked for Frontline Defense Systems, a surveillance system company based in Washington D.C.
- Mike Fiammetta
