Venus Williams Filed Emergency Protective Order In Deadly Car Crash Lawsuit
Venus Williams filed an emergency protective order regarding the inspection of her car for evidence in the deadly car crash lawsuit.
An emergency motion filed by her lawyers
The professional tennis player is involved in the ongoing investigation into a deadly car accident she was involved in.
Venus got into a car accident on June 9 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. She collided with another car at an intersection. One of the victims in the other vehicle, Jerome Barson, 78, died two weeks after the crash in the hospital.
The elderly man had been taken to the hospital for internal bleeding and organ damage after the accident. His wife, Linda Barson, was behind the wheel of their 2016 Hyundai Accent when Serena Williams’ 2010 Toyota Sequoia SUV collided into them.
The accident report revealed that Linda told the authorities she could not avoid crashing into the SUV, while the professional athlete said that she had entered the intersection at a green light but was forced to stop in the middle because of traffic.
Venus said that she had not seen the Barson’s car when she crossed into the intersection.
Venus was at fault
Regardless, the accident report found Venus Williams to be at fault for “violating the right of way,” but she has yet to have been charged or cited for the accident because the investigation is still ongoing.
WATCH: Venus Williams breaks down at Wimbledon talking about fatal crash: https://t.co/qFoTkDuDvG pic.twitter.com/LIFpyb8I9k
— Good Morning America (@GMA) July 4, 2017
After the victim died on June 22, his estate filed a wrongful death suit action lawsuit against Venus Williams.
The court documents were obtained by E! News after they were filed on July 5.
Au revoir Paris! Until next time, @hotelducollectionneur ??
A post shared by Venus Williams (@venuswilliams) on
Williams’ lawyers then filed a motion to prevent Barson’s lawyers from being able to conduct an inspection of the car and downloading its data out of concern that the evidence could be destroyed or lost during the inspection.
The court documents read that the “onboard data” of each of the vehicles will be “critical evidence” in the case.
“Issues have been known to arise when a vehicle’s data is downloaded. These issues included, but not limited to, the unintentional loss of the data.
“For that reason, no party should be allowed to inspect the vehicles until all Parties can be present with their experts and this Court issues a procedure for collecting the vehicles’ data.”
Big hair, don’t care! I wish I could wear my hair like this in my matches! @alexa_nypost
A post shared by Venus Williams (@venuswilliams) on
The tennis professional’s counsel requested that the inspection of the cars be deferred until the court has provided them with a “procedure for the proper collection of all data.”
A hearing has been set for Friday, July 7.
Williams’ attorney, Malcolm Cunningham, told the media that she “entered the intersection on a green light.”
Venus Williams was asked about events outside of #wimbledon today in her post-match press conference pic.twitter.com/ewnDywOmRy
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 3, 2017
He added that she was driving at around “5 miles per hour” when “Mrs. Barson crashed into her.”
“Authorities did not issue Ms. Williams with any citations or traffic violations. This is an unfortunate accident and Venus expresses her deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one.”
Venus spoke out on Facebook after the news of the victim’s death hit the internet saying that she was “devastated” and “heartbroken” by what happened.
“My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Jerome Barson and I continue to keep them in my thoughts and prayers.”
Venus Williams: “There are really no words to describe how devastating. I’m speechless, and I’m just …” https://t.co/riOIVaAMur
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 4, 2017
Are you surprised that Venus William’s lawyers filed the emergency protective order in the deadly car crash lawsuit? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
[Featured Image by Julian Finney/Staff/Getty Images]
