Earlier this month, Venus Williams was at the center of a serious car accident that has led to the death of a 78-year old man.
And, according to the official police records of what transpired, the tennis great is to blame for the eventual passing of this opposing motorist.
Scroll down for a summary of what went down a couple weeks ago…
According to police records obtained by TMZ, the wife of the victim (Jerome Barson) told authorities on June 9 that she was approaching an intersection westbound in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Right around the same time, Williams was driving her sports utility vehicle northbound when it suddenly darted into the intersection.
The other driver said there was no time to react or stop, as she smashed into Venus’ car from the side.
Speaking to police officers shortly after the incident, Venus said she was forced to slow down her vehicle after she made it to the intersection due to a backup of traffic in front of her.
This deceleration is what threw off the driver heading westbound and caused the accident to occur.
The driver’s husband, Jerome, suffered head trauma and was taken to a hospital and placed in ICU immediately following the crash.
He never recovered and passed away two weeks later.
Barson’s wife was also transported to the hospital with broken bones and other injuries, according to her lawyer, Michael Steinger, but she has managed to survive.
These official records state that Williams “is at fault for violating the right of way of [the other driver].”
Police also say in the report there was no evidence Venus was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Moreover, she doesn’t appear to have been distracted by an electronic device.
It sounds like this was just an unfortunate accident all around.
The police typically need to blame one party or the other when a serious crash takes place and they are called to the scene.
But this doesn’t mean any sort of charges will be brought against the star athlete.
Thus far, neither Venus nor anyone from her team has spoken out on the tragedy.
Venus, of course, is the older sister of Serena Williams, who recently made news herself for a very different reason.
Considered by most to be the greatest female athlete in history, Serena is nude and pregnant on the cover of this month’s Vanity Fair.
The siblings are very close and we’re sure Serena will be there as much as she can be for Venus during this difficult time.
We send our condolences to the loved ones of the victim as well. May he rest in peace.
