2 Clemson players were racing before crash that injured SC postal worker, lawsuit says

Two Clemson football players were racing each other in the moments before a crash that severely injured a postal worker in July 2021, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of crash victim Karen Lorraine Alvarez accused Clemson defensive backs Fred Davis II and Malcolm Greene of “racing their vehicles” prior to Davis’ car colliding with Alvarez’s postal vehicle on July 21, 2021 on U.S. Highway 123 in Clemson.

Davis’ vehicle was going 115 mph when he first applied his brakes 2.8 seconds before the collision, according to the lawsuit.

As a result of the crash, Alvarez, a U.S. Mail carrier, “sustained serious, severe, and permanent injuries including fractures of her skull, spine, pelvis, rib, and clavicle,” according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday morning in Pickens County Court.

Greenville-based attorney David R. Price Jr. is representing Alvarez in the lawsuit that demands “actual and punitive damages in an amount to be determined” by a trial by jury. The lawsuit filed against Davis and Greene was first reported by Riley Morningstar of The (Seneca) Journal.

Ross Taylor, a Clemson football spokesman, told The State on Wednesday afternoon that the school was aware of the lawsuit but had no immediate comment or immediate update on the status of either Davis or Greene.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is expected to address the media Wednesday night in a regularly scheduled Zoom news conference.

Davis, a junior cornerback for the Tigers, was arrested and charged with reckless driving last summer following the accident, The State previously reported.

Swinney last August said that Davis would face internal discipline and have to deal with “lots of consequences ... for a long, long time” after the charge. Davis wasn’t suspended from the team and ultimately played in nine games in 2021.

Davis has played in five games and started four for Clemson this season, while Greene, a junior defensive back, has played in three games with one start. Greene has missed Clemson’s last two games with injury.