Tiger Woods had 'bruised rib cage' and 'fractured right leg' after car crash, says first responders report
Tiger Woods' February car crash caused the golfer serious damage as per a new incident report released by the first responders who tended to him. The crash was caused by excessive speed, the Los Angeles county sheriff's office said on Wednesday, April 7. As per Sheriff Alex Villanueva, Woods was traveling at 84-87 miles per hour on a downhill stretch of road outside Los Angeles that had a speed limit of 45 miles per hour. The SUV was going 75 mph when it hit a tree, said the sheriff.
Under a section called "describe injuries," the first responders listed in graphic detail what they saw on February 23: "Knocked unconscious, laceration to the lower front jaw, bruised right and left rib cage, fractured right tibia, and fibula, possible right ankle injury."
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Later in the report, there is more detail about Woods' right leg injuries. As per the first responders, Woods suffered an "open fracture, mid-shaft on his right leg, below knee."
The report noted, “I saw P-1/Vehicle off the roadway on the west shoulder, turned onto its driver's side with its roof facing the roadway. The front of the vehicle was facing westbound in an uphill direction. I saw P-1/Driver sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle. P-1/Driver was wearing his seatbelt and the airbags of the vehicle had deployed. I saw blood on PA/Driver's face and chin. PA/Driver was responsive and was able to speak/communicate. I attempted to break the vehicle's rear sunroof with a window-breaking tool to free P-1/Driver but was unable to. Due to the damage the vehicle had sustained, I was unable to move P-1/Driver from the driver's seat.”
Under the section titled “intoxication”, a first responder noted, “P-1 was alert and responsive at the scene of the collision. Due to P-1's injuries I was unable to Perform standardized field sobriety tests. There were no open containers of an alcoholic [sic] beverages. odor of alcoholic beverages or prescription medications recovered from the scene (see supplemental report regarding surveillance videos RWC video and paramedic interviews).”
Villanueva blamed the crash solely on excessive speed and Woods' loss of control behind the wheel. Sheriff's Captain James Powers, who oversees the sheriff's station closest to the crash site, said there was no evidence that the golfer braked throughout the wreck and that it's believed Woods inadvertently hit the accelerator instead of the brake pedal. "The primary causal factor for this traffic collision was driving at a speed unsafe for the road conditions and the inability to negotiate the curve of the roadway,'' the Sheriff said.
Woods is right now in Florida recovering from multiple surgeries stemming from serious leg injuries he suffered in the accident. He suffered comminuted open fractures to the tibia and fibula, which means both major bones in his lower right leg broke into multiple pieces and poked through the skin, which increased the threat of infection. Trauma surgeons fastened his leg and ankle together with metal rods, pins, and screws.