Just as the dead man’s family attorney had warned, they have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against tennis legend Venus Williams for the car crash that took the life of the 78-year-old man.
Attorney F. Malcolm Cunningham Jr., who represents Williams, says he is aware of the lawsuit though he has yet to see it.
The accident happened on June 9 in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., outside a country club near Williams’ home. Palm Beach metro area is about 90 minutes north of Miami on the Atlantic side of the state.
Jerome Barson, the man who was tragically killed, was a passenger in a car driven by his wife, Ester Linda Barson, 68, when Williams rolled through a red light at 5 miles per hour. Witnesses say the Barson’s car, which T-boned Williams car, could not avoid hitting Williams’s SUV.
Barson died in an intensive care unit on June 22, nearly two weeks after the crash.
Despite the fact that police agreed she was at fault in the accident, that she violated the other driver’s right of way, Williams was not cited or charged for the slow speed crash.
Cunningham said in a statement that Williams expressed “her deepest condolences” to the family.
Barson’s wife filed a lawsuit, claiming her husband’s death was caused “as a result of the negligence” of Williams.
Police impounded both Williams’ 2010 Toyota Sequoia SUV and Barson’s 2016 Hyundai Accent.
Michael Steinger, attorney for Linda Barson, requested the release of both cars from the impound lot so an investigator can analyze Williams’ SUV.
“They [police] have impounded all of the vehicles and have impeded our ability to conduct our investigation and be able to move forward,” Steinger told “Good Morning America” on Friday.
But Williams’ attorney told Fox News that Barson’s attorney would have to wait until the police concluded their investigations.
The family also demanded video footage from police dashcam video or any surveillance footage of the incident.
“At this point we are attempting to both preserve the evidence and gain access to the evidence,” Steinger told the AJC. “There are video cameras that were placed at guard houses where Ms. Williams lives and police have refused after multiple requests to turn those over to us and we would like to see visual portrayal of the accident on those videos.
