Tennis star
Venus Williams was “at fault” in a Florida traffic accident that resulted in
the death of a 78-year-old man, police said in a report obtained Thursday by
AFP.
Williams,
37, slowed in the middle of an intersection when her vehicle was hit by a car
driven by the man’s 68-year-old wife, the report said.
The accident
occurred on June 9 in Palm Beach Gardens, a small city north of Miami.
The driver’s
husband suffered a head injury and died two weeks later at the hospital.
The winner
of seven Grand Slam championships was not using her phone and had not taken
drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash, police said.
The driver
of the other vehicle told police she was approaching an intersection going
westbound when Williams’ northbound utility vehicle suddenly cut across into
the intersection, leaving no time to stop before her car hit Williams’s
vehicle.
Williams
told police she was trying to get through the intersection but had slowed to
five miles (eight kilometers) per hour due to a traffic jam that left her car
blocking the right of way.
The driver’s
husband suffered head trauma and was hospitalized in intensive care prior to
his death, according to the Miami Herald newspaper. His wife went to the
hospital with broken bones and other injuries.
No charges
have been filed, although Palm Beach Gardens police said the crash is under
investigation.
“This is an
unfortunate accident and Venus expresses her deepest condolences to the family
who lost a loved one,” said Williams’s attorney, Malcolm Cunningham, in a
statement published by the paper.
Williams is
seeded 10th at Wimbledon, the year’s third Grand Slam tennis event that begins
Monday in England.
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