Venus Williams Is Being Sued by the Family of the Man Who Died in a Car Accident With Her
After it was reported that police are blaming Venus Williams for a car accident that sent Jerome Barson, 78, to the ICU unit of a hospital where he died two weeks later, the family of the man will now sue the tennis star, as reported by ESPN.
Michael Steinger, the attorney for Linda Barson, who was driving the vehicle with her husband before T-boning Williams's vehicle, explained that he's working to get police to release evidence in the June 9 accident in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
"At this point we are attempting to both preserve the evidence and gain access to evidence," Steinger said on Good Morning America today, as reported by ABC News. "There were video cameras placed at guard houses where Ms. Williams lives, police have refused after multiple requests to turn those over to us, and we would like to see visual portrayal of the accident on those videos. They have impounded all the vehicles and have impeded our ability to do our investigation and move forward. Not sure what their reasoning is. They have refused to turn them over to us at this point."
Steinger's words come after a police report, as obtained by TMZ Sports, said that Williams "is at fault for violating the right of way of [the other driver]."
The police report describes Williams's 2010 Toyota Sequoia crossing into the intersection with Linda Barson unable to stop her 2016 Hyundai Accent in time, T-boning the tennis star's SUV. Jerome Barson suffered head trauma and had to be hospitalized, dying 14 days later. His wife also suffered broken bones.
Williams's lawyer, Malcolm Cunningham, says his client entered the intersection on a green light that turned red during the turn attempt, leaving her stuck in the intersection. They also released condolences to the Barson family.
"This is an unfortunate accident and Venus expresses her deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one," Cunningham said on behalf of Williams, as reported by ESPN.
Williams, 37, isn't expected to be hit with criminal charges for this accident. She is expected, however, to play in Wimbledon next week.
BET Sports News — Get the latest news and information about African-Americans in sports, including weekly recaps, celebrity news and photos of your favorite Black athletes.
