{"id":332875,"date":"2017-06-30T04:51:39","date_gmt":"2017-06-30T04:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=332875"},"modified":"2017-06-30T04:51:39","modified_gmt":"2017-06-30T04:51:39","slug":"venus-williams-involved-in-fatal-car-crash-in-florida","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/06\/venus-williams-involved-in-fatal-car-crash-in-florida\/","title":{"rendered":"Venus Williams involved in fatal car crash in Florida"},"content":{"rendered":"
US tennis star Venus Williams has been involved in a car crash that led to the death of a 78-year-old man.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Palm Beach Gardens police in Florida confirmed to the BBC they were investigating a fatal crash involving the Grand Slam champion.<\/p>\n
A man was taken to hospital after the accident on 9 June and died two weeks later from his injuries, he said.<\/p>\n
According to TMZ, which broke the story, police believe she was at fault but her lawyer says it was an accident.<\/p>\n
The man who died, Jerome Barson, was travelling with his wife who was driving their vehicle through an intersection when the collision happened.<\/p>\n
Ms Williams’ car suddenly darted into their path and was unable to clear the junction in time due to traffic jams, according to witness statements in a police report obtained by US media.<\/p>\n
Mrs Barson was also taken to hospital but survived.<\/p>\n
“[Ms Williams] is at fault for violating the right of way of [the other driver],” the report said, adding that there were no other factors like drugs, alcohol or mobile phone distractions.<\/p>\n
The 37-year-old, seven-time Grand Slam champion reportedly told police she did not see the couple’s car and she was driving slowly.<\/p>\n
Ms Williams’ lawyer Malcolm Cunningham told CNN in a statement: “Ms Williams entered the intersection on a green light. The police report estimates that Ms Williams was travelling at 5mph when Mrs Barson crashed into her.<\/p>\n
“Authorities did not issue Ms Williams with any citations or traffic violations. This is an unfortunate accident and Venus expresses her deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one.”<\/p>\n
Next week, Ms Williams is due to play her 20th Wimbledon tournament in London, where she is seeded 10th.<\/p>\n
Ms Williams and her sister Serena have dominated the women’s game for two decades.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US tennis star Venus Williams has been involved in a car crash that led to the death of a 78-year-old man. A spokesman for Palm Beach Gardens police in Florida confirmed to the BBC they were investigating a fatal crash involving the Grand Slam champion. A man was taken to hospital after the accident on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[6686,3530],"yoast_head":"\n