Yahoo Finance Everything we know so far about the Tiger Woods crash
Aerial picture of Tiger Wood’s car crash
(AFP via getty)Tiger Woods crashed in his vehicle on Tuesday, causing a series of “significant injuries” that required emergency surgery, and threw the sportsman’s career into doubt.
The 45-year-old was pictured playing at a course outside Los Angeles, California, a day before the incident, and was due to play again on Tuesday, non-competitively.
Authorities said that Mr Woods, who has suffered several setbacks in his career, was “very fortunate” to be “able to come out of this alive” and according to relatives, was now recovering.
Here’s everything we know so far about the accident, from where it happened to what happens afterwards for Mr Woods.
When the accident happened:
On Tuesday morning, Mr Woods had been driving through an upscale Los Angeles suburb in Rancho Palos Verdes, to the west of the city, towards the Rolling Hills Country Club.
He was due to play golf with celebrities on Tuesday at the club, having done so on Monday, as part of a a two-day shoot with Golf Digest and GOLFTV,
Mr Woods was on hosting duties at the PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club at the weekend.
According to authorities, Mr Woods crashed at about 7.15am on Tuesday, some 25 miles south of Rolling Hills.
Where the accident happened:
The particular section of Hawthron Boulevard is known to local residents as being a cause of crashes, in part thanks to a steep slope and bend in the road.
Mr Woods was heading northbound on Hawthorn Boulevard at Blackhorse Road when the car he was driving overturned and crashed.
He was said to have struck the central divider and a sign that said “Welcome to Rolling Hills Estates,” before careening across all southbound lanes and hitting a tree before rolling to a stop — from where emergency responders rescued him.
This morning @LMTLASD responded to a roll-over collision in which @TigerWoods was injured. Please see our statement... pic.twitter.com/cSWOxKZC1w
— LA County Sheriffs (@LASDHQ) February 23, 2021
“Because it is downhill, it slopes, and it also curves, that area has a high frequency of accidents,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva in a news conference Tuesday.
Mr Villanueva suggested that Mr Woods was speeding, CBS Los Angeles reported, although there were no visible road markings.
The stretch of road remained blocked off on Tuesday afternoon.
What he was driving:
Mr Woods crashed a 2021 Genesis GV80 SUV, according to reports, which he was driving while in California for the week.
It was a courtesy vehicle given to him by Genesis, having hosted the PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club at the weekend.
The GV80 is the only SUV that is currently sold by the relatively little-known carmaker, which is owned by Korean company Hyundai.
The 2021 Genesis GV80 has a starting price of $50,000 (£35,000) and comes with a 14.5 inch horizontal touchscreen on the centre console, and 10 air bags.
Mr Villanueva, the Los Angeles County Sheriff, said the SUV’s airbags stayed mostly intact, which gave Mr Woods a “cushion to survive the crash.”
On Tuesday, authorities from the Sheriff's department and the Los Angeles County Fire Department described a dramatic scene, with Mr Woods pinned to the driver's seat of his vehicle, still wearing a seat belt.
A pry bar and an axe were used to free Mr Woods from the SUV, who was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center with several “serious injuries” and fractures.
What happens now:
In a statement shared to Twitter on Tuesday night, relatives of Mr Woods “thanked everyone for the overwhelming support” they had received.
The 45-year-old was described as being both “awake” and “responsive” following treatment by orthopaedic trauma specialists, and was expected to remain in hospital.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) February 24, 2021
Responding to the accident, professional golfers told CNBC’s golf channel they were confident Mr Woods would eventually return to playing.
“I’m sure he’ll do everything in his power to come back; I’m sure he will,” said Bryson DeChambeau. “I will say that, whatever’s happened, he’s always come back from it in a pretty amazing way. He’s an amazing human being that has done incredible things.
“I have no doubt in my mind he’ll be back. It might take him a little longer, I’m sure, but from my perspective, he’s one of the most impressive human beings I’ve ever met and I think that he’ll come back just fine.”
Asked last Sunday about recovering from recent back surgery in time to play the Masters in 2021, Mr Woods replied, “God, I hope so. I’ve got to get there first.”
Additional reporting by the Associated Press.
Read More
Tiger Woods ‘fortunate to be alive’ following serious crash, police say in news conference
Tiger Woods: Barack Obama and Cher lead messages of support to golf star following car crash
