Tiger Woods injured in Los Angeles-area rollover crash
LOS ANGELES (KION)
UPDATE 2/23/2021 3:30 p.m. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office and Fire Department held a joint press conference Tuesday afternoon to provide an update on a crash that left golfer Tiger Woods with serious injuries.
According to Sheriff Alex Villanueva, Woods did not show signs of impairment at the time of the crash, and the first deputy to respond to the scene, Carlos Gonzalez, said he was calm and seemed aware of his surroundings.
Gonzalez said Woods was not able to stand on his own. The fire department said it was previously reported that the "jaws of life" were used to get him out of the vehicle, but they actually used a pry tool and an axe.
Woods had serious injuries to both legs, according to the Sheriff's Office, and was taken to the nearest trauma center at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Officials said that if he had needed immediate life-saving measures, he would have been transported to the nearest hospital, with or without a trauma center. Officials would not give more details about his injuries.
Villanueva said he believes the interior of the vehicle, a 2021 Genesis SUV, acted as a "cushion to survive what otherwise would have been a fatal crash." They believe the vehicle was speeding when it crashed into a center median and hit two signs before rolling over and stopping in brush. He says the stretch of road where the crash happened is known as an area prone to crashes because it is steep and curves.
PREVIOUS STORY: The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office reports that golfer Tiger Woods was injured in a rollover crash Tuesday morning.
According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to the crash involving only one vehicle at around 7:12 a.m. near Rolling Hills Estates ad Ranchos Palos Verdes.
The agency reports that the vehicle he was in was heading north on Hawthorne Boulevard near Blackhorse Road when it crashed.
Woods was the only person inside, and the Sheriff's Office said he was extricated using the "jaws of life" and taken to a local hospital for treatment.
The crash is still under investigation.
Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, said in a statement that he suffered multiple leg injuries and is currently in surgery. A spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Fire Department describes his injuries as moderate to critical.
A source with law enforcement told CNN that Woods has non-life-threatening injuries, but has "compound fractures in his legs."
In a statement, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said, "We have been made aware of Tiger Woods' car accident today. We are awaiting further information when he comes out of surgery. On behalf of the PGA TOUR and our players, Tiger is in our prayers and will have our full support as he recovers."
CNN reports that Woods was in the Los Angeles area over the weekend to host the Genesis Invitational at Riviera and was set to spend Monday and Tuesday filming with GOLFTV.
This is the third time Woods has been involved in a car investigation. The most notorious was the early morning after Thanksgiving in 2009, when his SUV ran over a fire hydrant and hit a tree. That was the start of shocking revelations that he had been cheating on his wife with multiple women. Woods lost major corporate sponsorships, went to a rehabilitation clinic in Mississippi and did not return to golf for five months.
