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Venus Williams has settled a 'wrongful death' lawsuit with the family of the 78-year-old man who was killed in a multi-car collision last year

Alan Dawson   

Venus Williams has settled a 'wrongful death' lawsuit with the family of the 78-year-old man who was killed in a multi-car collision last year
Sports2 min read

Venus Williams car crash

BBC

Venus Williams, as seen through a police officer's body-cam shortly after the 2017 car crash.

  • Venus Williams was involved in a fatal multi-car collision last year.
  • The incident led to the death of a 78-year-old man, who died in hospital two weeks after the three-car crash.
  • Williams, who had been cleared of any wrongdoing by the police, had a "wrongful death" lawsuit filed against her by the man's family.
  • A settlement with the family was reached on Friday.

Tennis star Venus Williams settled a wrongful death lawsuit on Friday, one year after a multi-car collision that left a 78-year-old man dead.

In June last year, Williams "lawfully entered" an intersection in Palm Beach Gardens in Florida, according to video evidence obtained by a surveillance camera.

While initial reports indicated that police had ruled Williams was at fault, stating that she caused the accident by being in the intersection during a red light, the footage showed that a vehicle made a left turn in front of Williams, who stopped to avoid a collision, having gone through a green light.

However, when she began moving again, another car collided with her vehicle at 40mph, police said.

The crash led to the death of Jerome Barson, a 78-year-old man who died in hospital two weeks after the incident.

Williams broke down in tears and abruptly ended a press conference at Wimbledon in 2017 when asked about the crash.

Despite the fact that Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, had been cleared of all charges, Barson's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit because of alleged "negligence," CNN said.

A settlement was reportedly reached on Friday, though further details, like terms of the agreement, were not included in the settlement documents, according to the BBC. Both sets of lawyers - representing Williams and acting on behalf of the Barson family - have not commented on the settlement, the BBC reports.

Williams has made approximately $40 million in career earnings through tennis.

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