Tiger Woods awake and responsive after crash, police investigating cause
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[February 24, 2021]
By Dan Whitcomb
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Police on
Wednesday sought to determine what caused Tiger Woods to swerve off
a Southern California road in his sport utility vehicle, colliding
with a tree and rolling down a hillside in a crash that left the
golf great seriously injured.
Woods, 45, was pried from the wreckage by rescue crews and rushed by
ambulance from the scene of the Tuesday morning crash outside Los
Angeles to nearby Harbor-UCLA Medical Center suffering what his
agent described as "multiple leg injuries."
A statement posted on Woods' official Twitter account on Tuesday
night said he had undergone a "long surgical procedure" to his lower
right leg and ankle and was "awake, responsive and recovering in his
hospital room."
Compound fractures of his tibia and fibula - the two bones of his
leg below the knee - were stabilized with a rod, and screws and pins
were used to stabilize additional injuries to his foot and ankle,
Dr. Anish Mahajan, chief medical officer of Harbor-UCLA, said in the
tweet.
Mahajan also said that trauma to the muscle and other soft tissue of
the leg "required surgical release of the covering of the muscles to
relieve pressure due to swelling".
Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies responding to the wreck found
no immediate indication that Woods had been under the influence of
alcohol or drugs before losing control of his vehicle shortly after
7 a.m.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva, however, said the golf star, who was
"lucid" following the accident, appeared to have been going faster
than normal for a downhill, curving stretch of road known by locals
to be hazardous. Weather was not considered a factor.
Video footage from the scene showed Woods' dark gray 2021 Genesis
sport utility vehicle badly crumpled and lying on its side near the
bottom of the hillside, its windows smashed.
Woods' injuries were not life-threatening, the sheriff said, but
sports commentators were already speculating that the crash could
end the career of the greatest golfer of his generation.
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Los Angeles County
Sheriff's Deputies inspect the vehicle of golfer Tiger Woods, who
was rushed to hospital after suffering multiple injuries, after it
was involved in a single-vehicle accident in Los Angeles,
California, U.S. February 23, 2021. REUTERS/Gene Blevins
Woods is the only modern professional
to win all four major golf titles in succession, taking the U.S.
Open, British Open and PGA Championship in 2000 and the Masters
title in 2001, a feat that became known as the 'Tiger Slam'.
But he has suffered years of injuries and undergone multiple
surgeries on both his back and knees.
Woods, one of the world's most celebrated sports figures, was the
sole occupant of the car when it crashed near the suburban
communities of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes, the
sheriff's department said.
The vehicle veered across the center divider of the road into an
opposite traffic lane, striking a roadside curb, and a tree as it
careened over an embankment, and "there were several rollovers"
before the SUV came to rest, Villanueva said.
Woods hosted the PGA tour's Genesis Invitational at the Riviera
Country Club over the weekend but did not compete due to his back
injuries. The wrecked sport utility vehicle bore the Genesis
Invitational name on its doors.
He was seen at the Rolling Hills Country Club on Monday with actress
Jada Pinkett Smith, retired basketball star Dwyane Wade and comedian
David Spade.
Golf Digest reported Woods had been shooting a TV show segment in
which he was giving on-course instruction to the three celebrities
and was due to resume filming on Tuesday.
Woods held the top spot in golf's world rankings for a record total
of 683 weeks, winning 14 major championship titles from 1997 to
2008. His 15 major titles stand second only to the record 18 won by
Jack Nicklaus.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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