Tiger Woods was driving about 40 miles per hour over the speed limit when he crashed into a sports vehicle in February, according to Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Woods traveled between 84 and 87 miles per hour in a 45 km / h zone, Villanueva said at a news conference on Wednesday. His car was traveling at about 75 km / h when it hit a tree.
“The primary causal factor for the collision was driving at an unsafe speed for the road conditions and not being able to negotiate the curve,” Villanueva said.
Woods was not quoted as driving too fast, and Villanueva did not file any criminal charges. He added that there were no signs of weakening or intoxication, and that Woods was wearing his seat belt.
The captain of the Lomita Sheriff’s Station, James Powers, said the data was obtained from the vehicle’s recording recorder, popularly known as the black box. The data showed that Woods hit the accelerator during the crash, and that the pressure on the pedal was 99 percent. Powers said he believes Woods accidentally hit the accelerator while trying to brake.
Woods did not recall the collision, and there were no witnesses to the crash.
Woods was not quoted, Villanueva said, because according to California law, it usually requires an independent witness or a law enforcement officer to witness the excessive speed. He said Woods received no special treatment, and that no one would be quoted before any collision without any witnesses.
Woods had to be taken out of his SUV on the morning of February 23 after the accident and taken to hospital, where he underwent several operations on his right leg. Doctors not involved in Woods’ care predicted an extremely difficult recovery from his injuries.
Woods crashed his car into a windy and troublesome stretch of Hawthorne Boulevard, known for car accidents near Rancho Palos Verdes, a coastal city in Los Angeles County. According to data collected by the sheriff’s department, there were 13 accidents, four with injuries, from January 3, 2020 to February 23 this year within a 1.35 mile stretch of Hawthorne Boulevard that includes the site where Woods crashed.
That stretch of road is also known for speed. Deputy Carlos Gonzalez, the first emergency officer to arrive on the scene, said at a news conference in February that he sometimes saw vehicles driving more than 80 miles per hour on Hawthorne Boulevard.
Woods’ vehicle hit the median lane, moving hundreds of feet and rolling several times before stopping on the other side of the road in a brush. Along the way, it hit a tree that sent the SUV an aviation where, according to Powers, it was a bit of a pirouette.
Woods was quickly taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery, and was subsequently transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for follow-up procedures. He spent several days in hospital getting treatment, although there is still confusion about the exact nature of his injuries.
Dr. Anish Mahajan, the acting CEO of Harbor-UCLA, said in a statement the night after the accident, both bones in Woods’ right leg, the tibia and the fibula, were broken in several places and ‘open fractures’, meaning the bones pierced his skin.
The statement did not describe any injuries to Woods’ left leg, although Daryl L. Osby, the Los Angeles County Fire Chief, said earlier that Woods had “serious injuries” to both legs.
Woods underwent his fifth back operation in December 2020, just the latest injury to delay his golf career. He has won just one major golf championship since 2008.
February’s accident is not the first time Woods’ life and career have been derailed by a car accident. In 2009, he crashed his SUV into a fire hydrant outside his home in Florida in the middle of the night. He was knocked unconscious and taken in an ambulance to a hospital, where he was treated for minor facial injuries.
But the incident is mostly remembered for the next event and the outage for his career. There have been numerous reports of Woods’ infidelity and an apology in which he admits that he cheated on his wife. He lost numerous sponsors and walked away from golf for months. Woods and Elin Nordegren were eventually divorced.
Woods was also arrested in Florida in 2017 after police found him asleep in the car next to the road at 3 p.m. Woods blamed the incident for the interaction between several prescription drugs, including Vicodin, and had no alcohol in his system. Eventually, he entered a diversion program for first DUI offenders and pleaded guilty to reckless driving.
Captain Powers said there was no smell of alcohol, open containers or any narcotics in the vehicle or at Woods after the February crash. Woods told law enforcement that he did not drink and did not take any prescription pills. Investigators did not obtain or test Woods’ blood.
Woods, who lives in Florida, was in Genesis the weekend before to host the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club in the Pacific Palisades section of Los Angeles. Genesis Motor is a luxury vehicle division of Hyundai. Woods drove a 2021 Genesis GV80 SUV provided to him during the tournament; he is known for always driving himself in a courtesy car at tournaments.
Sheriff Villanueva told a news conference last week that the cause of the crash had been determined, but referring to California’s privacy laws, said it could not be released without Woods’ permission. Woods eventually waived his right to privacy and approved the release of the report.