OUT OF COURT
Venus Williams reaches settlement with family of pensioner killed in horror crash tennis legend was involved in
TENNIS star Venus Williams has reached a settlement with the family of a pensioner killed in a car crash.
The American, 38, had been under investigation from police in Florida after police reports claimed she "violated" the right of way of oncoming traffic at an intersection.
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A car driven by Lydia Barson, 68, and husband Jerome, 78, was smashed to pieces in the side-on collision and he died two weeks later in June last year.
And according to , Williams has come to an out-of-court agreement with the Barson family over the fatal crash.
Williams was cleared of criminal charges over the crash, as she attempted to cross a busy road in her SUV, where the Barsons were rolling through a green light at around 40mph.
Both cars were shunted 20 feet in other directions and the smaller Hyundai driven by the couple appears to have taken the brunt of the damage.
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Police officer told Venus Williams she caused fatal crash, according to body cam video
Pictures later emerged of the mangled bonnet of the black vehicle, which was catapulted on to a grassy verge.
Williams was not on her phone, nor under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the crash.
She claims she was blocked by backed-up traffic ahead of her, meaning she could not get out of the way.
A police report said an unidentified third vehicle illegally cut off Williams as she tried to cross a busy six-lane highway near her home, setting off the chain of events.
As she started to cross, a dark sedan cut her off, forcing her to stop.
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When the sedan cleared her path, Williams began moving forward in her 2010 Toyota Sequoia, but that put her in the path of the Barsons, who now had the green light.
The family had threatened to sue tennis star Venus, who has won Wimbledon five times and has collected £31.2million in prize money during her career.
Mr Barson's family lawyer Michael Steinger said last year: "The whole family are distraught. He fought for his life for 14 days."
Williams and her sister Serena have won 28 Grand Slam singles titles between them, with the younger sister, 37, just one short of Margaret Court's record of 24.
Attorneys for Williams and the Barsons have yet to comment.
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