The sports world was struck with major news on Tuesday morning when it was reported that 15-time major champion Tiger Woods was involved in a serious car crash in California.
In the minutes following the first report of the crash, which came from iHeartMedia’s Steven Gregory, information was scarce.
Tiger had participated in a golf outing with former NBA star Dwyane Wade on Monday, but Wade had shared social media videos and photos of the two together shortly before the first report of the crash surfaced.
Gregory reported that Woods was injured in the crash and needed to be removed from his vehicle with the “jaws of life.”
#BREAKING Agency at scene say @TigerWoods was injured in crash in Ranchos Palos Verdes at Hawthorne Blvd near Blackhorse Rd. Fire crews had to use jaws of life to get him out of vehicle. @KFIAM640 @FOXSports @AM570LASports @espn @TMZ_Sports
— stevengregory (@stevengregory) February 23, 2021
Update: Despite the initial statement from law enforcement, “jaws of life” was not required to remove Woods from the car.
LA fire captain clarifies that the jaws of life were NOT needed to extract Tiger from the car — hand tools were used
— Kavitha A. Davidson (@kavithadavidson) February 23, 2021
About 25 minutes after Gregory’s report, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that a single-car rollover crash occurred at 7:12 a.m. PT on Tuesday. Woods was the lone occupant in the car, which was seriously damaged.
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
The statement didn’t offer details about Woods’ condition — just that he was injured and transported to a nearby hospital via ambulance.
News footage captured images of the crash scene, showing a courtesy Genesis SUV turned over in a grassy area off the side of the road.
Looks like Tiger covered quite a bit of ground, this kind of tracks the path from overhead pic.twitter.com/I3EOUQatHS
— CJ Fogler #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) February 23, 2021
These Tiger car crash images are frightening pic.twitter.com/SaOpGwhL7G
— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) February 23, 2021
Woods’ agent said in a statement that Tiger suffered multiple leg injuries and remained in surgery.
Tiger Woods' agent, Mark Steinberg, said in a statement that Tiger suffered multiple leg injuries in this morning's crash and is currently in surgery.
— Ryan Bass (@Ry_Bass) February 23, 2021
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Update: In a Tuesday afternoon press conference, law enforcement and first responders offered more details on the single-car crash. Woods was taken to the hospital after being removed from the vehicle. He did not show signs of impairment, and he was conscious as emergency personnel arrived at the scene.
Woods was wearing his seatbelt.
Deputy Gonzalez with the LA County Sheriff's Department: "Mr. Woods was seated in the driver's seat. I made contact with him and I ensured that he was able to speak to me. At that time, he seemed as though he was still calm and lucid." pic.twitter.com/OUjdUU9F4B
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) February 23, 2021
Deputy Carlos Gonzalez, who was first on the scene of Tiger's accident, says that based on his experience responding to fatal traffic accidents, "it is very fortunate that Mr. Woods was able to come out of this alive."
— Marty Smith (@MartySmithESPN) February 23, 2021
Update: Tiger’s team provided this update late Tuesday night:
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) February 24, 2021
You can read more from USA TODAY.
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