Venus Williams accident, I don't understand the legality of this

[robinb]

Wow. That other car just came out of no where. She had the light but just barely and entered the intersection at full speed.

Does this mean that Venus might not be found at fault?

 

[Maggie'sMom]

Wow. That other car just came out of no where. She had the light but just barely and entered the intersection at full speed.

Does this mean that Venus might not be found at fault?

We'll have to wait and see, but the new evidence definitely raises the possibility the finding of fault could be reversed. I too was shocked to see how fast the other car was traveling given that the light just cycled to green. My dad always preached defensive driving techniques, and one was always to be wary when entering an intersection right after the light turns. That advice has saved me from accidents several times.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I was surprised after seeing that video footage. When I read about the accident, I had pictured a very busy road with a line of traffic backed up into the intersection. The video tells a much different story. It looks to me like Venus entered the intersection on a green light. Traffic ahead of her slowed, but she still would have made it through before the light turned red. What happened is that an oncoming car turned left in front of her, causing her to stop and not have time to get through before the light for cross-traffic turned green. The car making a left in front of her violated her right of way, causing her to get stuck in the intersection and be hit by the other car. It doesn't seem to me that she was at fault.

 

[Dancind]

She obviously feels responsible though. She's been distraught about this. I feel for her, I don't know what she could have done differently.

 

[bcla]

She obviously feels responsible though. She's been distraught about this. I feel for her, I don't know what she could have done differently.

Any time a driver is stuck in an intersection it gets a bit tricky because there are drivers who may be impatient, or in this case rather reckless. I've been in a situation like that and there's honking and sometimes even screaming out of windows.

Watch the security cam footage and all the other drivers going westbound are stopped at the light and proceeding slowly. Linda Barson's Hyundai is moving like she's trying to time the light to enter at full speed. She's darn close to entering on a red. Everything about the narrative has changed now that there's security cam video.

I'm almost convinced they weren't wearing seatbelts. Even at that speed they should have been able to walk away with minor injuries if they were wearing seatbelts. I've actually seen the results of a crash into a retaining wall when someone lost all braking. Both airbags deployed and both occupants had seatbelt bruises.

 

[bcla]

Traffic ahead of her slowed, but she still would have made it through before the light turned red.

Actually - there was almost no traffic ahead of her. There was plenty of cross traffic, but the direction she was headed seemed to be lightly used.

 

[robinb]

Any time a driver is stuck in an intersection it gets a bit tricky because there are drivers who may be impatient, or in this case rather reckless. I've been in a situation like that and there's honking and sometimes even screaming out of windows.

Watch the security cam footage and all the other drivers going westbound are stopped at the light and proceeding slowly. Linda Barson's Hyundai is moving like she's trying to time the light to enter at full speed. She's darn close to entering on a red. Everything about the narrative has changed now that there's security cam video.

I'm almost convinced they weren't wearing seatbelts. Even at that speed they should have been able to walk away with minor injuries if they were wearing seatbelts. I've actually seen the results of a crash into a retaining wall when someone lost all braking. Both airbags deployed and both occupants had seatbelt bruises.

I'm not an expert,but I think that the car appeared to be going full speed. That's what? 25-40 mpg. The Barsons were elderly and could be seriously hurt by the airbags alone ... add the force of the impact and I could totally believe their injuries even with seat belts.

 

[bcla]

I'm not an expert,but I think that the car appeared to be going full speed. That's what? 25-40 mpg. The Barsons were elderly and could be seriously hurt by the airbags alone ... add the force of the impact and I could totally believe their injuries even with seat belts.

I'm still highly skeptical that they were wearing seatbelts. Even at their age a crash at 25 MPH is survivable. Airbags may help a bit, but at

Also - their attorney's original lawsuit made a whole slew of claims that is clearly not backed up by the video. The attorney claimed that Venus Williams entered the intersection on a red, failed to stop for oncoming traffic, was traveling at high speed, etc. If anything, her attorney might need to worry being a defense attorney rather than a plaintiff's attorney. That video is just too much to overcome, especially with the evidence that Linda Barson was flying through the intersection right as it turned green.

 

[roger howard]

The light turned red no later than :29 and Venus was smashed by :32.

 

[roger howard]

She was about 10 feet from the curb. She should've immediately backed up at the sight of yellow. That's a long way to go on a red light when all you gotta do is back up. Venus Williams played russian roulette with innocent lives. One innocent life got the bullet. God Bless the Barsons.

 

[DisneyOma]

She was about 10 feet from the curb. She should've immediately backed up at the sight of yellow. That's a long way to go on a red light when all you gotta do is back up. Venus Williams played russian roulette with innocent lives. One innocent life got the bullet. God Bless the Barsons.

You never back up like that - what if someone was behind you? Or a pedestrian, a bicycle on the sidewalk? The woman driving the other car was going way too fast, and caused the accident. She didn't follow any of the safety rules taught in driving classes: http://www.safemotorist.com/articles/intersections.aspx

Venus did not do anything wrong - the other woman did. She was the one "playing Russian Roulette", IMO.

 

[bcla]

She was about 10 feet from the curb. She should've immediately backed up at the sight of yellow. That's a long way to go on a red light when all you gotta do is back up. Venus Williams played russian roulette with innocent lives. One innocent life got the bullet. God Bless the Barsons.

Linda Barson played Russian roulette with the Barsons. Did you notice how fast she's flying into the intersection while the other drivers are just barely moving? She gave herself no chance to scan the intersection for any vehicles or pedestrians that might still be legally in the intersection trying to clear it.

Backing up when well into the intersection is a stupid idea. A driver would have to turn the head and worry about backing up into a vehicle that may have already advanced. Williams would have made it through the intersection quickly had she not been cut off by the left turn driver. At the time she was cut off, she was well into the intersection and not simply at a point where she could back up 10 feet and be out of the way. At that point she's entitled to complete going through the intersection. Heck - if the left turn driver had not cut her off, she would have easily made it past the intersection and the left turn driver would have been waiting in the intersection to make a left. That driver would have been legally entitled to complete the turn.

The police have reassessed their finding of fault and they now state that Williams was legally entitled to continue. This is a basic part of drivers' ed - that vehicles already in the intersection have right of way and that drivers should proceed cautiously and shouldn't advance until those drivers have cleared. I fully expect that once the Palm Beach Gardens Police have concluded their supplemental investigation, they will find Linda Barson in violation of 316.075 (1)(a)1 for failure to yield right-of-way to another vehicle lawfully within the intersection.

 

[CarolAnn856]

She was about 10 feet from the curb. She should've immediately backed up at the sight of yellow. That's a long way to go on a red light when all you gotta do is back up. Venus Williams played russian roulette with innocent lives. One innocent life got the bullet. God Bless the Barsons.

Interesting first two posts. Friend of the Barsons?

No, you don't back up past 4-5 lanes of traffic just because someone cuts you off and you get stuck in the middle. Good grief, can you imagine the chaos if people started backing up in intersections??

The Barsons should never have entered the intersection. There was an obstacle in their way, and they never even slowed down. Drivers have a responsibility to avoid collisions, even if it is the result of an impediment that should not be there. In this case, Williams should have been there, because she legally entered the intersection and was unable to clear it due to others. Sorry, but you are way off base in continuing to blame her.

 

[roger howard]

You never back up like that - what if someone was behind you? Or a pedestrian, a bicycle on the sidewalk? The woman driving the other car was going way too fast, and caused the accident. She didn't follow any of the safety rules taught in driving classes: http://www.safemotorist.com/articles/intersections.aspx

Venus did not do anything wrong - the other woman did. She was the one "playing Russian Roulette", IMO.

Nobody was behind her. Once the light turned yellow that was her cue to back up. Very simple. What Venus did was stupid and crazy.

 

[roger howard]

Interesting first two posts. Friend of the Barsons?

No, you don't back up past 4-5 lanes of traffic just because someone cuts you off and you get stuck in the middle. Good grief, can you imagine the chaos if people started backing up in intersections??

The Barsons should never have entered the intersection. There was an obstacle in their way, and they never even slowed down. Drivers have a responsibility to avoid collisions, even if it is the result of an impediment that should not be there.

You don't understand the evidence. The light was red before venus crossed. Her car was about 10 feet into the intersection.

 

[CarolAnn856]

Nobody was behind her. Once the light turned yellow that was her cue to back up. Very simple.

No, you don't back up. Very simple.

 

[CarolAnn856]

You don't understand the evidence. The light was red before venus crossed. Her car was about 10 into the intersection.

I think you are the one who doesn't understand the evidence. Williams entered on the green. Or do you think you know better than the police?

 

[roger howard]

I think you are the one who doesn't understand the evidence. Williams entered on the green. Or do you think you know better than the police?

She drove through a red light knowingly and willingly. She risked the live of others and one got killed.

 

[CarolAnn856]

She drove through a red light knowingly and willingly. She risked the live of others and one got killed.

She did not. She entered on the green. If you can't comprehend basic driving rules, I'm done with you.

 

[roger howard]

She did not. She entered on the green. If you can't comprehend basic driving rules, I'm done with you.

She entered nothing. She was possibly less than 10 feet from the curb. You don't know anything about this case.