Contrary to initial reports that she was at fault in a fatal Florida car accident in June, Venus Williams is not to blame and will not be charged for the collision, an investigative report by Palm Beach Gardens police said this week.
The report, cited by the Sun-Sentinel, says that "no charges will be filed in this case."
Te decision follows a July report from the local police department that Williams, the 37-year-old tennis icon, had actually "lawfully entered the intersection on a ... green traffic signal" before the crash, which sent 78-year-old Jerome Barson to the hospital, where he later passed away due to injuries sustained in the accident.
As NPR's Colin Dwyer notes, authorities initially suggested that Williams had run a red light before the collision, and body camera footage later revealed that the officer on the scene "told Williams he'd say she was at fault" before adding that he didn't feel comfortable "writing a citation when I'm not a hundred percent sure, and I'm not a hundred percent sure in this case."
Williams was cooperative with police on the scene, according to CBS News.
Williams, who owns a home near the crash site, told investigators her light was green when she entered the six-lane intersection but she got stopped midpoint by traffic and didn't see the Barsons' car before she crossed their lane.
The police's investigative report, relayed by the Sun-Sentinel, "concluded that neither Barson nor Williams violated the other's right of way" at the intersection where the crash occurred.
Williams has repeatedly said she is "devastated" and "heartbroken" from the incident, even breaking into tears and saying she was "speechless" during a Wimbledon press conference when asked about the crash.
Barson's family, however, has still filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Williams, per NPR.
