Vehicular Incident At Thomas Ravenel’s Aiken Compound

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

While his former reality television love interest deals with an ongoing investigation over an alleged hit-and-run in Berkeley County, vehicular drama descended on the residence of former South Carolina treasurer Thomas Ravenel in Aiken County over the weekend.

According to reports posted on social media, a car carrying several passengers lost control and slammed into the front gate of Ravenel’s $3.8 million walled compound at 836 Whiskey Road. The incident took place prior to 11:00 a.m. EST, according to a local community Facebook page.

This media outlet has submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking additional information from law enforcement related to the accident.

Initial reports from witnesses referenced a vehicle losing control on Whiskey Road and crashing into the gate – which is angled at the corner of Whiskey Road and Knox Avenue.

***

“I saw them standing beside the police car,” one resident wrote on social media. “I think they were okay.”

The witness added that “it was raining around the time” of the crash.

Another local resident claimed Ravenel’s gate was struck by “a bunch of hood rats driving too fast on a rainy day.”

Hood rats?

Whiskey Road is quite the epicenter of acceptance, isn’t it?

(Click to View)

Again, we will await a response to our FOIA request prior to speculating as to what caused the crash. As of this writing, however, there is no indication Ravenel was involved in the incident aside from being a victim of property damage as a result of it.

Ravenel, 61, moved to Aiken from his plantation on Edisto Island three years ago. He purchased the 10,000-square foot home on a six-acre lot off of Whiskey Road in 2020. The former politician recently won a contentious battle for sole custody of the two children he shares with his former Bravo TV Southern Charm star, Kathryn Dennis.

Ravenel has no love lost for Dennis, posting on X last month that she was “the worst person in the world I know.” He also assailed his former reality co-stars Craig Conover and Shep Rose as “total losers” for allegedly making “excuses” for Dennis and “applaud(ing) her horrific behavior.”

Less than an hour later, though, Ravenel took a shot at this author.

“Actually, the biggest scumbag I’ve ever encountered is Will Folks,” he wrote.

Both of these comments were removed from the social media platform shortly after they were posted.

This author was Ravenel’s political consultant during his 2006 election and briefly reprised that role during the first episode of Southern Charm in 2014.

***

RELATED | KATHRYN DENNIS’ INCIDENT REPORT

***

Elected treasurer of South Carolina in 2006, Ravenel was forced to resign the following year after being arrested on federal drug charges. He eventually pleaded guilty in connection with that case and served ten months in a federal prison. That investigation also ensnared Pierre Manigault the owner of The (Charleston, S.C.) Post and Courier, but he was never charged.

Prior to his election as treasurer, Ravenel ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2004 as a Republican – finishing third in a GOP primary election. In 2014 he attempted a comeback as a petition candidate for the U.S. Senate, finishing a distant third place in that year’s general election.

Prior to his 2007 arrest, Ravenel was viewed as one of the rising stars of the South Carolina Republican party – a telegenic, intelligent advocate for limited government. Since then? He has become a cautionary tale on par with former governor Mark Sanford.

Since his aborted comeback, Ravenel was arrested in September 2018 and charged with second degree assault and battery in connection with an alleged sexual assault. A year later he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in connection with that case and was given a thirty-day suspended sentence (meaning he did not have to serve any jail time).

Accepting his sentence? Notorious S.C. circuit court judge Bentley Price … who has a long history of accommodating individuals accused of violent crimes against women.

Count on this media outlet to keep our audience in the loop on any relevant updates regarding the Ravenel gate crash – and the ongoing investigation into the unrelated hit-and-run tied to Dennis’ vehicle.

***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children.

***

WANNA SOUND OFF?

Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to proactively address? We have an open microphone policy here at FITSNews! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.