Venus Williams agrees settlement in fatal Florida car crash

Tennis star Venus Williams

Venus Williams has settled a wrongful death lawsuit with the family of a man who died as a result of a car crash in Florida involving the US tennis star.

Ms Williams and the family of Jerome Barson reached a settlement last week, court documents show. Further details were not included.

Mr Barson, 78, suffered “massive” fatal injuries from the collision in Palm Beach Gardens city on 9 June 2017.

Police had previously cleared Ms Williams of wrongdoing over the crash.

Mr Barson’s wife Linda, who was driving the couple’s vehicle through an intersection when the collision happened, was also earlier cleared by police investigators.

A report into the incident says that an unidentified third vehicle illegally crossed Ms Williams’s path as she tried to move through a busy main road on a green light near her home.

This, the report said, set off a chain of events that ended with the vehicle driven by Linda slamming into the passenger side of Ms Williams’s SUV, the Associated Press reports.

Mr Barson was subsequently taken to hospital but died two weeks later from his injuries.

Police said in an initial report that factors such as drugs, alcohol or mobile phone distractions were not being investigated.

Ms Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion, reportedly told police at the time that she had not seen the couple’s car and had been driving slowly.

Lawyers for Ms Williams and the Barsons have not yet commented on the latest reports. – bbc.com