"There are no words to describe how devastating" - When Venus Williams was brought to tears after being asked about the fatal car crash
A few days before the 2017 Wimbledon Championships kicked off, Venus Williams was involved in a major car accident near her residence in Florida, resulting in the death of 78-year-old Jerome Barson.
In a post-match press conference after her 7-6(7), 6-4 first-round win over Belgium's Elise Mertens at the 2017 Wimbledon, the American star was asked more questions about the unfortunate incident than tennis. She tried to speak but could not hold back the tears with her face buried in her hands.
Williams was devastated by what had happened, and when asked about how she was mentally coping, said that she was missing her younger sister Serena Williams, who was pregnant at the time and missed the Grand Slam event.
"There are really no words to describe, like, how devastating and -- yeah. I'm completely speechless. It's just... I have no idea what tomorrow will bring. That's all I can say about it. That's what I've learned. I miss Serena a lot. I think she misses me," Venus Williams said.
Williams had to leave the room for a brief period before she came back and continued with the press conference.
"There are really no words..." Venus Williams breaks down in tears at Wimbledon over deadly crash cbsn.ws/2szhgTL https://t.co/8Uy8wqgDQF
Venus Williams and Barsons settled the death suit in 2018
Jerome Barson's wife, Linda, was driving when the mishap took place as she rammed into the passenger side of Williams's SUV on June 9, 2017. While Linda sustained minor injuries, her husband suffered a fractured spinal cord, along with other internal injuries, and succumbed 13 days later. He is survived by his wife (33 years of marriage), three children, and 13 grandchildren. Williams was unharmed in the crash.
Initially, Palm Beach Gardens police had declared that the tennis player was at fault as she jumped a red light, resulting in a crash. Williams was sued by the estate of Jerome Barson. Police cleared that the tennis icon was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and neither was she using her phone while driving. But they did maintain that she wrongly drove into the elderly couple's lane.
Venus Williams claimed that she didn't jump the red light and entered a six-lane intersection on a green signal but was forced to stop midway due to traffic and failed to notice the couple's car.
In November 2018, Williams and the Barsons agreed to settle the lawsuit without making the details public. Both the tennis icon and Linda Barson were earlier acquitted by the police after a report suggested that an unidentified third vehicle wrongly crossed Williams' path while she was following the green signal.