Cop Body Cam: Venus Williams Told She Was "At Fault" In Deadly Crash
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PALM BEACH (CBSMiami) - Moments after Venus Williams was t-boned by another driver in a Palm Beach Gardens intersection, she was told by a police officer that she was the one who was "at fault" for the deadly accident.
Police body cam footage after the June 9th crash, obtained by TMZ.com, shows a police officer walk up to Williams, who is sitting in her 2010 Toyota Sequoia, and explain to her that when she stopped in the intersection to wait for an oncoming car to pass, the light changed.
"He had a green light, so you kind of violated his right of way," the officer can be heard telling Williams.
Surveillance video of the actual crash, however, told a different story.
It shows Williams entering the intersection on a green light. She pauses briefly in the middle of the intersection as a car turns left and then continues. That's when her SUV was struck by a Honda driven by Linda Barson, whose 78-year-old husband Jerome died from his injuries two weeks after the crash.
"In light of the footage, the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department released a statement exonerating Williams.
"It has been determined the vehicle driven by Venus Williams lawfully entered the intersection on a circular green traffic signal and attempted to travel north through the intersection to Ballenisles Drive."
Williams still faces a wrongful death suit brought by Jerome Barson's estate.
