WILD TIGER
Woods speeding before flying off highway: sheriff
Tiger Woods was driving nearly twice the speed limit when his SUV smashed into a median during the February rollover crash that broke his right leg in multiple places and left his golf future in doubt, officials said Wednesday.
Woods was barreling between 84 and 87 mph in a 45-mph zone when his Genesis hit the raised median, and the vehicle was still doing 75 as it careened into a tree.
An investigation determined the primary cause of the Feb. 23 wreck in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif., was “driving at a speed unsafe for the road conditions and the inability to negotiate the curve of the roadway,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said at a press conference Wednesday.
Officials say they found no signs of impairment with Woods, and have no evidence he was using his cell phone when the crash occurred at 7:12 a.m. in an area known for crackups.
Woods, 45, had been recovering from his fifth back surgery, which he underwent last December, when the crash occurred.
Authorities insisted Woodsdidn’t receive preferential treatment from authorities. Officials did not conduct a blood test on the golf great.
“Without the signs of impairment, we don’t get to the point where we can actually author a search warrant and develop the probable cause and get that,” Villanueva said.
A field sobriety test was not administered due to the severity of Woods’ injuries. No citations were issued to Woods, and authorities did not pursue a warrant to review his phone.
“There was really no need to do that,” Capt. Jim Powers of the sheriff’s department said. “There was no other evidence . ... There’s two factors.
The speed and the failing to maintain the straight course of the curvature of the roadway. That’s it. There’s nothing from a cell phone to indicate any type of distracted driving.”
“It is a solo traffic collision,” Villanueva said. “We are not going to issue a citation for an infraction not in a peace officer’s presence. That would apply to everybody.” Villanueva said any suggestion that Woods had received special treatment “is false.”
Woods suffered serious injuries to his right leg, which required surgery. Several weeks after the crash, Woods announced he had returned home from the hospital and would continue his recovery there.
On Wednesday, Woods released a statement saying he is “grateful” for the good Samaritans and the authorities who helped him after the crash.
“I will continue to focus on my recovery and family, and thank everyone for the overwhelming support and encouragement I’ve received throughout this very difficult time,” Woods said in the statement, which he posted shortly after officials released their findings.
Officials have not determined why Woods was traveling at such speeds near the intersection of Hawthorne Blvd. and Blackhorse Road.
Woods was on his way to meet with NFL quarterbacks Drew Brees and Justin Herbert when he crashed, ESPN reported in February.
Powers said the athlete “doesn’t have any recollection of the incident.”
“There was no evidence of braking throughout this collision,” Powers said. “It is speculated and believed that Tiger Woods inadvertently hit the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.”
There was an indication, however, that the vehicle was being steered, which could have been the result of an attempt to “correct from the impacts, and also the impacts itself,” Powers said.
Woods remained cooperative during the investigation, according to authorities.
Villanueva said Woods gave authorities permission to release the cause of the crash. He also said past history cannot be used to establish probable cause in cases like Woods’.
In a 2017 incident, Woods was arrested in Jupiter, Fla., and charged with DUI after police found him asleep in a running car. Woods, who attributed the incident to sleep medication, pleaded guilty to reckless driving several months later.
February’s crash involved Woods’ vehicle crossing oncoming traffic before landing on its side on an embankment off the road.
“He was in a state of shock at the onset of that collision,” Powers said. “He was awake. We helped him sit up a little bit and then we tried to extract him from the vehicle by breaking the sunroof, and it wouldn’t break, so we waited for the fire department. I don’t want to use the word ’alert,’ but he was, but he was kind of dazed and confused, being in a state of shock.”