Venus Williams settles wrongful death lawsuit with family of man killed in Florida car crash

Venus Williams has agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit with the family of a man who died as a result of a car crash involving her last year in Florida.

Jerome Barson, 78, died after sustaining “massive” injuries in a collision with Ms Williams’ car in Palm Beach Gardens on 9 June 2017, though police subsequently cleared the American tennis star of any wrongdoing relating to the crash.

The terms of the settlement have not been disclosed and lawyers for both parties have not commented on the conclusion of the case.

Mr Barson was in the passenger seat of a car driven by his wife Linda – who was also cleared by police – which, according to a report into the incident, slammed into the side of Ms Williams’ car at 40mph at an intersection near her home.

The report claimed that an unidentified third vehicle illegally crossed Ms Williams’ path as she tried to cross a six-lane main road at a green light, setting off a chain of events that led to the crash.

Ms Williams reportedly told police at the time of the incident that she had been driving slowly and had not seen the Barsons’ vehicle prior to the collision.

Mr Barson was immediately taken to hospital but died as a result of his injuries two weeks later.

Asked about the incident during a news conference at Wimbledon the following month, Ms Williams described it as “devastating” before breaking down in tears.