Tiger Woods still found a way to make headlines during Masters week, and it’s not for the right reasons.
Woods will miss this weekend’s tournament while he continues to recover from serious injuries sustained in a car crash in February. Authorities have been tight-lipped about the details of that one-car wreck, but the Los Angeles County Sheriff shed some light Wednesday, and it doesn’t paint Woods in a great light.
According to the sheriff’s office, Woods was speeding at the time of the wreck. Woods, according to the sheriff’s office, was driving faster than 80 mph — in a 45 mph zone — before driving off the road and crashing. As Woods careened off the road, he struck a tree, driving at about 75 mph, the sheriff’s office revealed in its press conference.
That information was the result of an investigation by local authorities, and the information came from the vehicle’s on-board system. Woods wasn’t issue a citation for speeding, in large part, because it wasn’t observed by a police officer.
Additionally, it’s believed Woods went to hit the brake pedal and inadvertently hit the accelerator.
However, there were no signs of impairment, LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Wednesday.
“I know there are a lot of experts who claim they’re drug recognition people who claim ‘They should have drawn blood or done this or done that,’ and without the signs of impairment, we don’t get to the point where we can author a search warrant and develop probable cause to get that,” Villanueva said. ” … That is not preferential treatment. That would occur in any collision of this type based on the circumstances. Past history does not get you the elements you need to establish probable cause, so I’ll leave it at that.”
It was also determined Woods hit a tree, and his 2021 Genesis SUV was launched into the air before crashing down on the side of the road.
Woods suffered multiple leg injuries in the crash, including a compound fracture. He was in the hospital for nearly a month before returning home in mid-March.
To say he’s lucky to be alive — even while wearing a seatbelt — is an understatement.
