Venus Williams was involved in a car crash on June 9 at 1:13 p.m. at an intersection near BallenIsles Country Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Investigators are trying to determine if Williams ran a red light.
Williams’ attorney is arguing that the tennis star did not run a red light when the accident occurred.
Witnesses state that Williams, driving a 2010 Toyota Sequoia, went through a red light into a six-lane intersection. The police and witnesses say that Williams was stuck in the middle of the intersection when the light turned green and had to drive 5 miles per hour due to heavy amounts of traffic.
Esther Linda Barson and Jerome Barson, her husband and passenger of the vehicle, both 68 and 78 years old respectively, entered the intersection when the light was green and had no time to react to Williams entering the intersection.
The Barson’s both ended up with significant injuries when their car crashed into Williams’ vehicle, which entered the roadway illegally. Jerome suffered significant injuries and had to undergo several surgeries following the accident. He later died at St. Mary’s Medical Center after 14 days in the hospital.
Police did not find evidence of any drug or alcohol in the tennis star’s body at the time of the accident. Williams did not suffer any injuries in the accident.
Williams’ attorney argues that his client drove through the light when it was green, which would carry less consequences.
Williams has stated that she is heartbroken following the death of Jerome and has taken legal precautions this week by filing an emergency court order.
The family of the man killed in the accident is suing the tennis star on grounds of wrongful death. Williams filed the emergency court order, stating that the daughter of the man killed in the accident allowed less than 24 hours’ notice before having her attorney inspect the vehicle involved in the crash.
Wrongful death does not follow a normal car accident settlement process. Wrongful death allows for expert testimony to determine the value of Jerome to his family.
Williams is asking that any evidence, whether it be data or inspection evidence, be barred from the court until a procedure is put in place that allows for the proper collection of all data by both parties,
Both parties have been restrained from gathering further data, with a court hearing scheduled for Friday July 7.
Police report that Williams was at-fault for the accident and violated the right of way of another driver. Williams, currently playing at Wimbledon, broke down in tears on Monday after her first round victory. The tennis star was heavily questioned by reporters who asked about the crash.
She responded, “There are really no words to describe, like, how devastating and – yeah, I’m completely speechless.”
The lawsuit shows that the family is seeking damages in excess of $15,000 for the incident. Police are still investigating the crash and did not give Williams a citation. An accident reconstruction specialist may be brought on to the case to determine the factors at play that led to the accident.
