Sheriff’s office pays $400K to settle high-speed chase suit

Glenn Hardy, his wife Sherry and their 16-year-old son Cole were on S.C. Highway 81 when a gold Cadillac driven by Shermaine Jenkins crossed over the center line and collided head-on with their Chevrolet PT Cruiser.

Jenkins had been trying to outrun Deputy Brandon Surratt – the two had gone to high school together and had a contentious history – during a pursuit through a congested area at speeds of more than 100 mph, according to the Hardys’ attorney, Eric H. Philpot of Greenville.

Philpot said the sheriff’s office had at first refused to make a settlement offer to the Hardys, prompting the family’s lawsuit accusing Surratt of gross negligence for putting other drivers in danger by chasing after Jenkins, who’d been driving with a suspended license.

The county’s attorney, William H. Davidson II of Columbia, did not respond to an interview request.