NEWSNo Drugs, No Alcohol Involved: Authorities See No 'Evidence Of Impairment' In Tiger Woods' Car Crash
More information is coming out regarding the horrifying vehicle crash in Southern California on Tuesday, February 23, involving Tiger Woods.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department held a press conference earlier today addressing inquiries regarding possible causes of the accident and the condition of the 45-year-old on the scene.
“Deputies at the time they did not see any evidence of impairment,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. “He was alive and he was conscious, and that’s the extent of that."
“What we’re (sic) at is signs of under the influence of either narcotics, medication, alcohol, order of alcohol, all these different things that would give you an idea in their behavior, but there was none present.”
Sheriff Villanueva noted that a follow-up probe would make any final determination. The subsequent investigation will also examine if the accident may have been due to “distracted driving,” like texting, the Sheriff said.
LASD responded to a single vehicle roll-over traffic collision on the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes shortly after 7 a.m. Tuesday morning. The vehicle, which sustained major damage, was traveling northbound on Hawthorne Boulevard, at Blackhorse Road, when it crashed.
The Sheriff's Department said that the athlete was the sole occupant of the vehicle. Authorities initially said that Woods had to be extricated from the vehicle using the "jaws of life" tool by Los Angeles County firefighters and paramedics, but it was later clarified that an ax was used to remove him from the wreckage.
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A KABC-TV helicopter over the scene of Woods' accident showed a car on its side with the front end heavily damaged. Air bags appeared to be deployed. The wreckage appeared to be just off the side of a road on a hillside.
He was then transported to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center by ambulance for non life-threatening injuries where he was immediately rushed into surgery, law enforcement sources said.
According to Daniel Miller and the L.A. Times, Woods reportedly suffered a shattered ankle and two leg fractures in the rollover crash. One source familiar with his treatment said that one of the fractures was compound.
Villanueva said that accidents were not uncommon in the area due to the downhill slopes and curves on the road.
“Thankfully the interior was more or less intact, which gave him the cushion to survive,” he said. “Otherwise, it would have been a fatal crash.”
The 45-year-old was in Southern California for a two-day content shoot with Golf Digest/GOLFTV after serving as host for the PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational over the weekend. Pictures surfaced on social media of Woods smiling with celebs like Dwayne Wade and David Spade at Rolling Hills Country Club on Monday.
