Rod, screws inserted into Woods’ leg
Career-ending?: The miracle of how Ben Hogan survived and recovered from a crash 72 years ago this month is resonating as details emerge about Woods’ injuries.
Tiger Woods had emergency orthopedic surgery Tuesday after a single-vehicle rollover accident in Southern California. As of Tuesday night, he was “awake, responsive and recovering in the hospital room,” his team posted on the golfer’s Twitter account.
Woods, a 15-time major tournament champion, has seen an outpouring of support from the golf world and beyond since news of the crash broke.
“It’s sickening,” PGA Tour pro Adam Scott said. “He’s our hero out here. You think guys like Tiger and Kobe Bryant are untouchable, but they’re not.” The latest information on the crash: The Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s Department responded to the 911 call at 7:12 a.m. PT on the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes. The vehicle had been traveling northbound on Hawthorne Boulevard and sustained major damage while landing in the brush about 50 feet from the closest home. The front end of the SUV was destroyed and the airbags deployed.
The reasons behind the crash remain unknown, and Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said a traffic investigation could take days or weeks.
Wednesday on Instagram Live, Villanueva said the department is not considering charges of any kind against Woods. The incident is being considered an accident, which could lead to a misdemeanor at most.
Villanueva added: “He was not drunk. We can throw that one out.”
Deputy Carlos Gonzalez, first to arrive on the scene at 7:18 a.m. PT, said Woods was unable to stand or remove himself from the vehicle. He was conscious and able to speak, appearing “calm and lucid.” Gonzalez was wearing his body camera, and it was on, while he interacted in the vehicle with Woods, and that footage should be available in the near future.
In the statement posted by Woods’ team, Anish Mahajan, the chief medical officer and interim CEO at HarborUCLA, said Woods suffered “comminuted open fractures” affecting both the upper and lower portions of his right tibia and fibula, the two main bones in the lower leg. A combination of screws and pins stabilized injuries to bones in the ankle and foot. Additionally, trauma to nearby muscle and soft tissue required doctors to “surgically release” the muscle to reduce swelling and safeguard potential infection.
Woods had been recovering from a fifth back surgery, which he had in December. The fractures themselves could take months to heal.
Since the tibia and fibula both connect to the knee and the ankle, Hawkins said, the severity of injury to both joints will influence how quickly Woods can return to his feet.