Tiger Woods has been hospitalized and is in surgery following a single-vehicle car accident in a Genesis GV80 in Palos Verdes, California, on the morning of Tuesday, February 23rd.
The details remain undisclosed but there is already coverage of the aftermath. The L.A. County sheriff calls this a single vehicle roll-over traffic collision, per CNN:
The report cites a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff which confirms that the 45-year-old golfer neither struck nor was struck by another vehicle. The LA County Sheriff noted that Woods had to be pulled out of the GV80 by the fire department, as the LA Times reports:
Woods was the sole occupant of a Genesis GV80 SUV that was traveling north on Hawthorne Boulevard at Blackhorse Road when he crashed just after 7 a.m., authorities said. The vehicle sustained major damage, and Woods had to be extricated from the wreckage by personnel from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, sheriff’s officials said.
Sources said he had to be removed through the car’s windshield.
“Because of the situation and the way that you found the vehicle, he wasn’t able to open the door and come out,” L.A. County Fire Department spokesman Henry Narvaez said. “We extricated him; we helped assist him out of the vehicle.”
The LA Times further notes that Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva claimed Woods is “lucky to be alive.” His car was 30 yards off the road where it landed. The LA Times also reports that he is in serious condition at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and cites an unnamed source that Woods’ injuries include a shattered ankle.
We will update this story as we get more information.
UPDATE [Wednesday, February 24, 2021, 12:17 PM ET]:
The details of the crash and injury are coming to light, and the accident has been confirmed as a single vehicle collision. Autoblog described the incident as follows:
Woods was driving through a sweeping, downhill stretch of road through coastal suburbs of Los Angeles when his SUV struck a sign, crossed over a raised median and two oncoming lanes before it toppled down an embankment, coming to a halt on its side.
Similar accidents have occurred in the area in the past, and usually involve excessive speeds.
Tiger Woods himself made a statement via Twitter in which he cited the Chief Medical Officer at H-UCLA, Anish Mahajan, MD. Mahajan stated the following about the injury Woods sustained in the crash:
Mr. Woods suffered significant orthopaedic injuries to his right lower extremity that were treated during emergency surgery by Orthopaedic trauma specialists at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, a level 1 trauma center. Comminuted open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula bones were stabilized by inserting a rod into the tibia. Additional injuries to the bones of the foot and ankle were stabilized with a combination of screws and pins. Trauma to the muscle and soft-tissue of the leg required surgical release of the covering of the muscles to relieve pressure due to swelling.
The statement goes on to say that Woods is responsive and recovering at the hospital and the golfer expressed gratitude for the first responders who rendered assistance.
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
