Serena Williams is getting married, pregnant and still winning tennis titles. Her sister, Venus Williams, has a different future.
According to a police report, Venus Williams caused a car accident which led to the death of a 78-year-old man two weeks later.
The driver of the other car — the wife of the victim — told cops she was approaching an intersection westbound in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida on June 9 when Venus’ northbound SUV suddenly darted into the intersection. The other driver says there was no time to stop and she T-boned Venus’ vehicle.
Venus told cops she was trying to make her way through the intersection, but there was too much traffic. This caused her to slow down, leaving her and her car stuck in the intersection.
The driver’s husband, Jerome Barson, suffered head trauma and was taken to a hospital and placed in ICU. He never recovered and died 2 weeks later. Barson’s wife was also taken to the hospital with broken bones and other injuries, but survived … according to her attorney Michael Steinger.
The police report also names Venus as being at fault for “violating the right of way” of Barson.
Will there be any charges against Williams? Maybe not criminally. Florida statute § 782.071 describes vehicular manslaughter as when a driver kills another human being “by operating a motor vehicle in a reckless manner likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another.” I finally get to use this law degree I got online. The police report puts Williams at fault, but getting stuck there doesn’t qualify as “reckless.” So, Williams likely won’t face any vehicular manslaughter charges.
On the other hand, expect a civil suit against Williams. She’ll likely settle out of court as this happens in most cases. The only question now is how much is a 78-year-old life worth.