Tony Stewart Ran Over Kevin Ward Jr. But Media Sensationalized Accident, Claims Kevin Harvick

Tony Stewart did not run over Kevin Ward Jr. on purposeful that fateful night according to Kevin Harvick, who claims that the media has been purposefully sensationalizing the reports in order to make Stewart appear to be the bad guy in the accident.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, Jeff Gordon and Rick Hendrick also stand by Stewart in regards to his account of the fatal accident. But it’s alleged that other NASCAR drivers are worried about Tony Stewart’s road rage, with others claiming his reputation is his own enemy.

Harvick believes the media, especially writers who do not regularly cover the sport of NASCAR, portrayed their opinion in such a way that some readers interpreted their views as fact. He also believes it’s easy to piece together any driver’s bad moments in order to create the perception there is a general problem with the person.

“I think as you look at that and you see all the stories that have come out and all the things that they’ve put in that mix with the highlight reels of a pit crew member (being hit) on a pit stop or (a driver) getting out and throwing your helmet or whatever the case may be, they can make that highlight reel for just about every one of us that have been in this garage,” Harvick said. “At some point in time, you’ve probably hit a crew member, you’ve probably got mad and thrown something, or been in an altercation or blown up or whatever the case may be. But they can make that highlight reel out of everybody. It’s really just when you get into these outlets that are just looking for the controversial topic, it’s just not been right.”

In the end, what frustrates Harvick most is that he believes Tony Stewart has been vilified in the media, who he claims are acting like judge, jury, and executioner despite the fact that the police are still doing an ongoing investigation.

“I think, for me, the most frustrating part was just the fact, just the perception from a lot of unknowledgeable people about our sport in general and the perception that was given to Tony in the accident,” Harvick said. “Obviously, it was a very tragic accident; you have someone who’s dead. But on the other side of that fence, you have somebody that I know for a fact, not (just) in my heart but I know for a fact that he’s not just going to run somebody over on purpose and say ‘this is how I’m going to handle this.'”

In the worst case scenario, Tony Stewart faces a potential felony charge of second-degree manslaughter depending on the outcome of the police investigation. Based upon New York law, prosecutors would have to convince a jury that Stewart “recklessly caused the death of another person,” with negligent homicide another possibility.