The world’s greatest golfer, Tiger Woods, has made headlines before for crashing his car, but it was never as bad as this. This week, Woods rolled over in his SUV, shattering his left leg and breaking the other.
Woods was at the wheel of a loaner Genesis GV80 SUV and the car, along with the fact that he was wearing his seat belt at the time, is credited with saving his life in the crash. It happened in the early hours of Tuesday morning, as he was rushing to a meeting he was already late for.
As he approached a curve in an area at the border of Rolling Hills and Palos Verdes, in California, he lost control, went over the median, across the opposite lane, over the curb, into a tree, and then rolled into the bushes. The L.A. County says he rolled his car “multiple” times and that he was showing no signs of impairment when first-responders arrived.
After undergoing surgery, Woods is now recovering in the hospital. One thing he won’t have to worry once he’s out is the possibility of being charged with a crime in relation to the accident, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva tells the media in an online Q&A. Video of this segment from the chat is included below.
“This is purely an accident,” Sheriff Villanueva explains. “We do not contemplate any charges whatsoever in this crash. This remains an accident. An accident is not a crime.”
The Sheriff adds that Woods could be hit with an infraction if it’s established he was on his phone or otherwise distracted when he lost control of the vehicle but makes sure to point out that this is different from a reckless driving charge.
Speaking to CNN, the Sheriff reiterates his belief that Woods is lucky to be alive after the crash. Him surviving was “nothing short of a miracle,” he says. “We have seen accidents with far less obvious [damage] that are fatalities.” Villanueva says Woods could not tell them how the accident happened, even though he was awake and calm when they arrived: when he was taken to the hospital, he had no recollection of it.
As he approached a curve in an area at the border of Rolling Hills and Palos Verdes, in California, he lost control, went over the median, across the opposite lane, over the curb, into a tree, and then rolled into the bushes. The L.A. County says he rolled his car “multiple” times and that he was showing no signs of impairment when first-responders arrived.
After undergoing surgery, Woods is now recovering in the hospital. One thing he won’t have to worry once he’s out is the possibility of being charged with a crime in relation to the accident, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva tells the media in an online Q&A. Video of this segment from the chat is included below.
“This is purely an accident,” Sheriff Villanueva explains. “We do not contemplate any charges whatsoever in this crash. This remains an accident. An accident is not a crime.”
The Sheriff adds that Woods could be hit with an infraction if it’s established he was on his phone or otherwise distracted when he lost control of the vehicle but makes sure to point out that this is different from a reckless driving charge.
Speaking to CNN, the Sheriff reiterates his belief that Woods is lucky to be alive after the crash. Him surviving was “nothing short of a miracle,” he says. “We have seen accidents with far less obvious [damage] that are fatalities.” Villanueva says Woods could not tell them how the accident happened, even though he was awake and calm when they arrived: when he was taken to the hospital, he had no recollection of it.