New video shows Venus Williams was driving ‘lawfully’ during crash that killed a passenger in second car

YouTube/AP

Police have released a newly obtained video of the crash involving Venus Williams in which the passenger in a second car was killed, and declared that she was driving “lawfully” when she entered the intersection.

Initial reports indicated that police had ruled Williams at fault and that she caused the accident by being in the intersection during a red light.

According to the statement released by the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, this new evidence was obtained from a surveillance camera in a community near the intersection. According to the police, the new video shows that Williams entered the intersection with the light green, but was cut off by a car turning in front of her. This caused her to stop in the intersection at which point she was hit by the second vehicle (statement via Christopher Clarey of the New York Times).

“After the initial investigation was conducted, new evidence into the incident was located. Video surveillance footage was obtained from the community south of the intersection which recorded the traffic crash. Based on the evidence obtained in the ongoing investigation, it has been determined the vehicle driven by Venus Williams lawfully entered the intersection on a circular green traffic signal, and attempted to travel north through the intersection to Ballen Isles Drive. As Williams was travelling through the intersection, a Nissan Altima entered the intersection travelling south, and made a left turn in front of Williams’ vehicle, causing her to stop advancing through the intersection to avoid a collision.”

Here is the video, via the Associated Press. As can be seen, Williams was actually stopped at the red light and did not enter the intersection until it turned green as there was a car stopped in front of her at the light.