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Venus was a fault in the death of a 78 year old man....... (Original Post) a kennedy Jun 2017 OP
I can see a big settlement coming........ nm MichMan Jun 2017 #1
Shame this ghostsinthemachine Jun 2017 #2
+1 joeybee12 Jun 2017 #3
According to the cops. Mosby Jul 2017 #4
That's because she's very likely not entirely at fault rocktivity Jul 2017 #5
Possibly not rocktivity Jul 2017 #6
This message was self-deleted by its author rocktivity Jul 2017 #7
This message was self-deleted by its author rocktivity Jul 2017 #8
This message was self-deleted by its author rocktivity Jul 2017 #9
New unedited video "supports Venus Williams in car crash death" rocktivity Jul 2017 #10
UPDATE: An even better video from the Greater Miami Area Patch rocktivity Jul 2017 #11
Seems like a dangerous, weird intersection caraher Dec 2017 #14
12/17 UPDATE: No Charges Will Be Filed rocktivity Dec 2017 #12
This is good news.......thanks for posting. a kennedy Dec 2017 #13
Thanks for all your posts going back to when this first happened JonLP24 Dec 2017 #15

ghostsinthemachine

(3,569 posts)
2. Shame this
Thu Jun 29, 2017, 08:43 PM
Jun 2017

Slow down, be aware. Beating a light and next thing you know, somebody dies and their family, you, your family are are facing life changing events. Sure she will live hard with this for a long time. So will the family of the man who died.

rocktivity

(44,555 posts)
5. That's because she's very likely not entirely at fault
Fri Jul 7, 2017, 02:36 PM
Jul 2017

Last edited Thu Jun 24, 2021, 12:07 PM - Edit history (1)

Sketch from police report:



Venus' SUV is the car on the left -- note that she was semi T-boned, which makes it clear that Venus was in the intersection first and therefore had the right of way regardless of what color the light was.

Damage to the other car -- extensive enough to suggest that it's the one that did the "darting":



According to TMZ, "The police report estimates that Ms. Williams was traveling at 5 mph when Mrs. Barson crashed into her. Authorities did not issue Ms. Williams with any citations or traffic violations." It also says that the cops have released the car to her though they were unable to download information from its black box (they were able to get the info from the Bransons' car). Very oddly, no one seemed to remember to take any pics of Venus' car.

Venus may very well be guilty of entering a blocked intersection. But combine all that with the reluctance to release the surveillance video, and the real problem might be reluctance to charge a 68-year old white woman with the vehicular manslaughter of her husband.


rocktivity

rocktivity

(44,555 posts)
6. Possibly not
Fri Jul 7, 2017, 03:07 PM
Jul 2017

Last edited Wed Dec 29, 2021, 10:18 PM - Edit history (7)

If Venus is guilty of illegally entering an intersection, then the other driver is, too, because Venus was in it first and it was her car that was hit. You're supposed to yield the right of way to traffic in an intersection you want to enter no matter what color the light is -- and even if it got here illegally. Venus could be found totally not at fault (if not totally at fault), which would reduce the size of any settlement -- if any.


rocktivity

Response to a kennedy (Original post)

Response to rocktivity (Reply #7)

Response to a kennedy (Original post)

rocktivity

(44,555 posts)
10. New unedited video "supports Venus Williams in car crash death"
Sat Jul 8, 2017, 11:20 AM
Jul 2017

Last edited Thu Jun 24, 2021, 12:36 PM - Edit history (11)

My apologies: the video at TMZ had about ten seconds missing, which they lacked either the competency to notice or the journalistic professionalism to point out.

New video of Venus Williams’s deadly car crash supports her claim that she did nothing illegal, Florida cops say.

The Palm Beach Gardens Police said that Williams, 37, drove forward on a green light, but stopped her Toyota Sequoia in the intersection because a Nissan passed in front of her. She then pulled forward and was t-boned by Barsons’s Hyundai Accent...

Please click here to watch a complete clip courtesy of the New York Daily News.

Venus yielded the right of way to the Nissan; Barson should have yielded the right of way to Venus. All that stuff about her darting through the traffic and around cars to beat the light is incorrect. The Barson family can therefore wave bye-bye to their civil suit payout.


rocktivity

rocktivity

(44,555 posts)
11. UPDATE: An even better video from the Greater Miami Area Patch
Mon Jul 10, 2017, 03:10 PM
Jul 2017

Last edited Sun Aug 8, 2021, 04:58 PM - Edit history (22)



Click here to fast forward to the six-minute mark. At 6:08, a white car pulls up and stops at the first intersection. Venus pulls up and stops behind it at 6:22, but the white car doesn't start moving until 6:30. No oncoming traffic prevents the car from proceeding, so why does it just sit there for least twenty seconds? Because its light was red, most likely.

At 6:33 (and presumably after the light has turned green) the white car completes a left turn, and Venus drives through the first intersection unimpeded. At 6:38, she stops at the second intersection and yields the right of way to a car going in the opposite direction of the Barson car -- strong evidence that Venus was truthful about her light being green. Why? Because of how unlikely it is that her light had turned red ONLY FIVE SECONDS after it had turned green!

While the car she yielded to clears the second intersection, two cars in the lanes next to Barson's pull up and stop at 6:41. Venus starts up again at 6:42 when Barson barrels past the two cars into the intersection, with impact at 6:43.

No way is Venus at fault. Mrs. Barson either failed to yield the right of way to Venus (like the drivers of the two cars that stopped when they got to intersection and let Venus go through), ran a red light, or both -- and she's definitely guilty of entering the intersection at an inappropriate speed. Instead of extorting money, Mrs. Barson's lawyers should be trying to persuade the D.A. that the loss of her husband is punishment enough.


rocktivity

caraher

(6,276 posts)
14. Seems like a dangerous, weird intersection
Thu Dec 21, 2017, 12:33 PM
Dec 2017

What's really strange to me is that the two cars at the intersection started rolling forward just before the crash, as if the light in fact had changed after such a short amount of time. And that seems like it's what probably happened. Venus entered the intersection on a green light, stopped for that other car, and decided to continue the rest of the way across the intersection just as the light turned green for the other road (which is why the stopped cars started moving forward) and simply did not see the other car zipping along in the right lane. Meanwhile the other car in the collision had been approaching the light but saw it turn, and didn't expect Venus' car to enter the intersection (and likely did not see it at all).

Apparently the duration of the green light on the street Venus came from is variable and often quite short - as little as 10 seconds:

WPBF 25 News drove Williams’ route that day: heading north out of Steeplechase, crossing Northlake and into BallenIsles.

The light stayed green for various times depending on how many cars were lined up and crossing sensors that trigger the light.

In one instance, the light was green for 29 seconds, and allowed several cars to exit BallenIsles and turn east.

<snip>

And in another instance a car leaving Steeplechase had only 10 seconds to enter Northlake and head west before the light turned red.


I'd fault neither driver in this - it happened because the design of the whole traffic system at an intersection with a busy road includes no margin for the unexpected (in this case, Venus' need to yield to the turning vehicle trapping her in the intersection).

rocktivity

(44,555 posts)
12. 12/17 UPDATE: No Charges Will Be Filed
Thu Dec 21, 2017, 02:14 AM
Dec 2017

Last edited Thu Jun 24, 2021, 12:32 PM - Edit history (6)

TMZ: Venus Williams is not at fault for her fatal car accident, but neither is the driver of the other vehicle...Palm Beach Gardens PD released their findings...and said no charges will be filed in the case.

Cops say neither Venus nor the Barsons -- the couple in the car that t-boned Venus -- violated the other's right of way. Venus told police on the scene she was "caught in the middle" of the intersection because a third vehicle had turned in front of her as the light was turning...


So it's officially over unless the Barsons proceed with civil action -- to which I hope Venus will respond with counter charges of defamation, harassment and attempted extortion. Let Barson's widowhood be her punishment for driving too fast and not yielding the right of way. Game, set and match, Venus -- now, go help your new nephew celebrate his first Christmas!


rocktivity


JonLP24

(29,322 posts)
15. Thanks for all your posts going back to when this first happened
Thu Dec 21, 2017, 04:50 PM
Dec 2017

It has always been clear to me she wasn't at fault thanks to your posts.

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