Darlington Raceway, former track president sued over 2022 alcohol-involved wreck

DARLINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A Massachusetts woman who was seriously injured in a 2022 wreck is suing Darlington Raceway and its former president, accusing both of negligence.

Attorneys for Jessica Wilde filed the complaint Friday in Darlington County Common Pleas Court, saying the track’s continued serving of alcohol to the man who struck her car after the 2022 Cook Out Southern 500 on Sept. 4 is to blame for the incident.

Wilde collided with Ryan Brandenburg, of Indiana, just before 11:15 p.m. on Johnny Bruce Road, the lawsuit says.

“Defendant Kerry Tharp, actively participated in, directed and sanctioned the actions which resulted in the creation and existence of the unsafe sale of alcohol at Darlington Raceway,” the suit says. “Further, Kerry Tharp, failed to exercise ordinary and reasonable supervision which would have detected the failures of the Defendants to warn of the unsafe sale of alcohol and operate the sales in a reasonably safe manner.”

The extent of Wilde’s injuries were not included her suit, which is seeking unspecified financial damages to cover among things “physical pain” and “suffering.”

Tharp led the track’s operations from 2015 until his retirement last June.

This year’s Cook Out Southern 500 begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12 . See more of his work here .

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