Tiger Woods was found unconscious by passerby after SUV crash, affidavit says
A man found Tiger Woods unconscious in a mangled SUV after the golf star crashed the vehicle in Southern California, authorities said in court documents obtained Friday.
The man, who lives near the site in Rolling Hills Estates, heard the crash and walked to the SUV, Los Angeles county sheriff’s Deputy Johann Schloegl wrote in an affidavit.
The man told deputies that Woods would not respond to his questions.
The first deputy on the scene, Carlos Gonzalez, has said Woods was able to talk to him and answer basic questions. Woods later told deputies that he did not know how the collision occurred and didn’t remember driving.
Law enforcement has not previously disclosed that Woods had been unconscious following the crash.
The information came in a statement of probable cause requesting that a search warrant be approved for the Genesis SUV’s data recorder, known as a black box. Schloegl requested data from 22 and 23 February. The crash occurred around 7am on 23 February.
“I believe the data will explain how/ why the collision occurred,” Schloegl wrote.
Sheriff ’s representatives have declined to say what was discovered in the recorder.
The 2021 GV80 driven by Woods went off a Los Angeles county road and crashed on a downhill stretch known for wrecks. The crash injured Woods’ right leg, requiring surgery.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva has said Woods was driving alone in good weather, there was no evidence of impairment, and the crash was “purely an accident”.
Schloegl previously told USA Today that he did not seek a search warrant for Woods’ blood samples, which could be screened for drugs and alcohol. In 2017, Woods checked himself into a clinic for help dealing with prescription drug medication after a DUI charge in Florida.
The lengthy surgery following the crash was to stabilize shattered tibia and fibula bones in his right leg. A combination of screws and pins were used for injuries in the ankle and foot.
It was the 10th surgery of his career, and came two months after a fifth back surgery. Through it all, Woods has never gone an entire year without playing, dating back to his first PGA Tour event as a 16-year-old in high school.
The word ‘Iditarod’ derives from an indigenous Alaskan name for a ‘far distant place’. Due to precautions made necessary by the Covid-19 pandemic, this year’s Iditarod Trail sled dog race, which starts on Sunday, will be an especially distanced event.
The trail for the world’s most famous sled dog race has been drastically rerouted to avoid almost all the communities that normally serve as checkpoints, and the traditional ceremonial start in Anchorage has been eliminated.
Only 47 mushers and their dogs have entered, a much smaller field than usual, as many mushers were unable to clear coronavirus-related travel obstacles. And there will be almost no spectators cheering teams on in person, as trail access will be strictly limited.
Last year, English-born musher Thomas Waernereasily won the Iditarod, one of the few US sporting events not canceled by concerns over the then-new coronavirus. Waerner, who grew up and lives in Norway and represents the country where he was raised, said in November that he wouldn’t be defending his title due to restrictions and uncertainty over travel during the pandemic.
Once mushers and their dogs take off, however, a lot will be back to normal for them, said 2018 champion Joar Leifseth Ulsom, one of this year’s favorites.
“It’s not like we are very social people. We spend most of our time out with the dogs,” Leifseth Ulsom, a Norwegian who lives full-time in Alaska, told Reuters.
Covid-19 planning for this year’s race started at the end of last year’s contest, when participants came home “to a different world,” said Rod Urbach, the Iditarod’s chief executive.
Canceling was not an option, Urbach said. Instead, the Iditarod created a “robust” Covid plan that, as of this week, had been updated 21 times, he said.
The biggest change for this year’s 49th edition of the race is the course. Instead of running to Nome, the Bering Sea town that is normally the finish line, the 2021 route will be an outand-back loop taking teams to an uninhabited checkpoint called Iditarod and the abandoned mining settlement of Flat, then back to the starting point in Willow, about 75 miles (121 km) north of Anchorage. The total distance is about 860 miles, roughly 100 miles shorter than the traditional course.
All participants must test for Covid repeatedly and remain in an Iditarod “bubble”, Urbach said. That’s especially important for race officials, veterinarians and volunteers who far outnumber the competitors, he said.
“The mushers are fairly easy to socially distance,” he said.
Coronavirus aside, this year’s field is highly competitive, Leifseth Ulsom said. He is one of four returning champions, a group that includes fourtime winners Dallas Seavey and Martin Buser, and 2019 champion Pete Kaiser.
Also expected to compete are the Iditarod’s top women – Aliy Zirkle, planning to retire after this year’s race, and Jessie Royer, who finished third the past two years.
Plentiful snow this season has allowed for ample advance training, Leifseth Ulsom said. “We’ve had a really good winter, the best we’ve had in a long time,” he said.
The Iditarod, as it has every year, faces criticism from animal-rights activists condemning the event as cruel to dogs, putting pressure on race sponsors. In January, Exxon Mobil announced it was ending its longtime sponsorship after this year’s race.
Urbach said the Iditarod has, nevertheless, gained some new sponsors and is drawing revenue from a subscription service that sends video directly to fans.
Plans are already underway for next year’s 50th anniversary Iditarod, which is expected to be conducted in a postCovid world, Urbach said.
“Next year, we’re going to have the biggest bash in Anchorage imaginable,” he said.