After former NASCAR driver Candace Muzny was found dead inside her home near Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on Monday, a medical examiner has since determined the cause of death as accidental drowning, according to a KFOR report published Wednesday. Although authorities initially told Oklahoma City news outlets that Muzny’s death was being treated as suspicious, there were reportedly no obvious signs of a homicide.
Muzny, 43, was arrested and charged just last month after allegedly punching a metro nail technician for not speaking English. She is also accused of cutting the responding Oklahoma City Police officer with a knife. She had been out of jail for just a few days, having been released on Friday.
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On Jan. 12, Muzny was arrested and taken into police custody after slapping a manicurist for speaking Vietnamese to a co-worker, according to the Associated Press. She was also accused of threatening the woman with a pocket knife.
“We were speaking in our native language about my pay, and then she said to ‘f— stop speaking that language or I will slap you in the face,’” Tiffany Nguyen, the manicurist who was attacked, told News9 in January.
“She got me cornered, and I fell,” Nguyen said. “But I was able to kick her, and she lunged and tried to put a knife up to my throat a couple of times.”
In an interview with Heavy.com, Muzny said that she “backhanded” the manicurist because “I asked her three times to stop speaking Vietnamese to me. I was paying with the American dollar.”
“I think if you’re speaking to an American who is a customer of yours, and you know they’re not Vietnamese, it’s rude to talk to them in a language they don’t understand,” she continued. “She needs to get back to Vietnam. If she wants to live in America and serve Americans, she needs to speak the language they speak.”
In response to the claim that she also attacked a police officer, Muzny told the outlet that she was “bum rushed” from behind and “did not stab an officer.”
Oklahoma City police spokeswoman Megan Morgan told Heavy.com that the District Attorney’s office accepted charges for assault & battery on an officer, three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault & battery, resisting an officer, and interfering with a 911 call.
Muzny was a regular competitor in the NASCAR Late Model Divisions and NASCAR K&N Pro Series, according to Bleacher Report. She also participated in the 2007 Toyota All-Star Showdown and 2009 Last Chance Open.
She was once viewed as an up-and-coming racer, to the point that TV personality Jesse James raved about her skills.
“Candace is a very skilled and patient driver. The sky is the limit for her. And the best thing? She is not shooting for the stars,” James told The Orange County Register. “She’s humble and willing to put the time in and learn and take each step with confidence.”
Photo credit: John Harrelson / Stringer / Getty
