Venus Williams faces a wrongful death lawsuit from the family of a man who died in a Florida car crash involving the tennis star.
The 78-year-old man suffered “massive” fatal injuries from the June 9 collision in Palm Beach Gardens city.
According to police, Venus was at fault for the traffic accident, which caused the death of Jerome Barson.
Williams’s attorney Malcolm Cunningham, however, denied the player was at fault in the June 9 accident after media outlets, citing a police report, said she had run a red light.
Cunningham, who expressed condolences to Barson’s family, said, “Ms Williams entered the intersection on a green light. The police report estimates that Ms Williams was travelling at 5 miles per hour when Mrs Barson crashed into her. Authorities did not issue Ms Williams with any citations or traffic violations.”
The 37-year-old is due to make her 20th appearance at Wimbledon on Monday and her lawyer believes the crash would not stop her from participating.
Former world number one tennis player Venus Williams was involved in a two-car crash on June 9 at a Florida intersection that resulted in the death of a male passenger in the other vehicle, her attorney said on Thursday (June 29).
Williams’s attorney Malcolm Cunningham denied the player was at fault in the accident after media outlets, citing a police report, said she had run a red light.
“This is an unfortunate accident and Venus expresses her deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one. I don’t have any information that indicates she is not playing Wimbledon,” he had said.
TMZ Sports, which first reported on the accident, however, said the police report claims Williams was at fault and identifies the deceased as 78-year-old Jerome Barson, who died 14 days after the accident from his injuries.
The Palm Beach County medical examiner’s website shows that a Jerome Barson died on June 22.
Williams is currently ranked number 11 in the world and seeded 10th at Wimbledon, which she has won five times.
