NEW YORK, NY
Golfing legend Tiger Woods was driving at excessively high speed at the time of his February car crash, the Los Angeles County Sheriff said on Wednesday.
Alex Villanueva said the primary cause of the near-fatal car crash “was driving at a speed unsafe for the road conditions, and the inability to negotiate the curve of the roadway.”
Authorities estimated the speed of Woods’ vehicle at 84-87 mph (136-140 kph) when his car crashed into the center divider, setting off a chain of impacts that saw his vehicle hit a tree at an estimated speed of 75 mph (121 kph) before rolling down a hillside.
The speed limit in the area was 45 mph (72 kph).
Woods sustained life-threatening injuries during the crash in addition to a compound leg fracture and was transported to a local hospital after authorities arrived on the scene. Police at the time said he was lucky to be alive.
Authorities had to pull Woods through the front window of his vehicle due to the damage it sustained.
Police did not seek search warrants that would have allowed them to determine if Woods was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident, and Sheriff’s officials said there “was no indication for us to do so” when asked by reporters on Wednesday.
“There was no evidence of any impairment or intoxication, and so in order to obtain a search warrant you have to have probable cause,” said Sheriff’s Capt. James Powers. “And that did not exist.”
