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Cape Town - Venus Williams will not face any criminal charges after a car crash killed a 78-year-old man near her Florida home in June.
Jerome Barson was fatally injured in the crash when his wife, Linda (68), smashed her car into Venus’s vehicle, reports The Mirror.
Police initially believed Venus (37) to be at fault for failing to yield an intersection and for running a red light.
Video evidence later vindicated the tennis champ – showing that she had entered the intersection lawfully and that a car not involved in the collision caused Venus to stop in the intersection.
The traffic light changed to green and the vehicle containing the husband and wife T-boned Venus’s Toyota Sequoia, according to The Guardian.
Jerome was immediately rushed to hospital and died on 9 June, 13 days after the accident on his wife’s birthday.
Venus may not face any criminal charges, however the Barson family has filed a civil wrongful death suit against her.
She expressed her feelings on the accident at a Wimbledon press conference, according to New York Daily News.
"I am completely speechless and it's just. I mean, I'm just,” said a tearful Venus.
She later posted on Facebook that she was “heartbroken”.
Sources: The Mirror, New York Daily News, The Guardian
