VENUS WILL NEED EXPERT TO BOLSTER CRASH CASE
Crash lawsuit could turn on if she were texting or talking.
Tennis star Venus Williams must hire an expert to prove she wasn’t on her cellphone when she was involved in a car crash on Northlake Boulevard last year that caused the death of an Acreage man.
Palm Beach County Circuit Judge James Nutt on Wednesday agreed with Williams’ attorney that she shouldn’t be forced to turn over her phone to attorneys representing the family of James Barson, who was 78 when he died two weeks after the crash.
“(The) request would give (the Barson family) and her experts carte blanche access to Williams cellphone, allowing them to see conversations between Williams and family members, business associates, friends and her attorneys,” wrote lawyer Kevin Yomber, representing Williams.
Instead of turning over the phone, Nutt ordered Yomber to hire an expert to analyze Williams’ phone to see if she was talking or texting before the crash. The expert’s findings will then be turned over to attorneys who are representing Barson’s family in the wrongful death lawsuit.
In a deposition, Williams denied that she was texting or talking on her phone at the time of the June 2017 crash, Yomber said.
Williams collided with a Hyundai Accent driven by Barson’s wife, Linda, at an intersection near her home at BallenIsles Country Club off Northlake Boulevard. Williams was not cited in the crash.
Surveillance-camera video showed that Williams stopped in the intersection of BallenIsles Drive and Northlake Boulevard because a southbound Nissan Altima leaving BallenIsles turned left in front of her, violating Williams’ right of way. Williams stopped to avoid the crash, according to police.
As Williams finished going through the intersection, Barson’s traffic light turned green and she headed westbound on Northlake, crashing into the passenger side of Williams’ vehicle. The Palm Beach Gardens police report states Williams was driving 5 mph at the time of the crash.