Williams has been found at fault in the accident that killed Jerome Barson in Florida.
The daughter of a man killed in a car crash involving the tennis star Venus Williams has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against her.
Williams was crossing an intersection in her Toyota S. U. V. in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., around 1 p.m. on June 9, when, according to a police report, she collided with a car being driven by Linda Barson. Barson’s husband, Jerome, 78, was a passenger in the car, and died on June 22 as a result of injuries he sustained in the crash.
According to the lawsuit, filed on Thursday and obtained by The New York Times, Linda Barson, 68, also sustained injuries including, “a cracked sternum, shattered right arm, broken wrist, hand and fingers.”
Williams, who arrived in London on Wednesday to prepare for her 20th Wimbledon tournament, was physically unharmed in the crash.
The accident happened as Williams’s car was crossing the intersection at about 5 miles per hour and Barson’s car ran into it, the report said. It said Williams was at fault for “violating the right of way” of the other vehicle, though she was not cited. A police spokesman said on Thursday that the accident remained under investigation.
Neither driver was suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or of being distracted by electronics or other factors, according to the police report.
Witnesses told investigators that Williams ran a red light just as Barson’s car entered the intersection on a green light.
“The driver of V2 (Barson) advised she proceeded thru the intersection when V1 (Williams) cut across in front of V2, and V2 was unable to avoid crashing into V1, ” the police report said.
According to the lawsuit, filed in Palm Beach County by Barson’s daughter, Audrey Gassner-Dunayer, “the resulting impact caused extensive damage to both vehicles.”
“The front end of the Hyundai Accent was crushed, the front windshield shattered, the airbags deployed, there was crush damage to the rear on the driver’s side, and the back window was shattered, ” the lawsuit said. “The Defendant’s Toyota Sequoia was also severely damaged.”
After a practice session on Friday in London, Williams’s coach, David Witt, said that she arrived in England on Wednesday morning and practiced on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
“It’s tough on her, but she’s trying to stay positive and taking it one day at a time, ” Witt said of the accident. “She wants to focus on the tennis here.”
