Tiger Woods’ car accident: Everything we know about what happened

Tiger Woods was involved in a serious car accident Tuesday morning in Los Angeles that required him to be removed from his SUV by the local fire department. He suffered injuries to his right leg, ankle and foot that required emergency surgery Tuesday afternoon. His team confirmed the serious extent of the injuries Tuesday night.

Here is everything we know about the Woods accident via information the L.A. Sheriff’s Department provided to reporters Tuesday afternoon. We will update this story as more information becomes available.

Tiger Woods thanks golfers, fans

Tiger Woods thanked golfers and fans on Twitter on Sunday night after a day of golf in which players wore his traditional Sunday colors of red and black in his honor.

“It is hard to explain how touching today was when I turned on the tv and saw all the red shirts,” Woods account tweeted. “To every golfer and every fan, you are truly helping me get through this tough time.”

Woods undergoes additional procedures

Woods, according to a statement posted under his personal Twitter handle, received follow-up procedures on his injuries at his new hospital, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, on Friday morning.

While the statement did not disclose the exact nature of the procedures, the good news is that they were “successful,” and Tiger is described as “recovering and in good spirits.”

Woods moved to new hospital

Woods, according to Dr. Anish Mahajan, chief medical officer at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, has been moved to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

“Mr. Tiger Woods was transferred to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for continuing orthopedic care and recovery,” Mahajan said in a statement. Mashajan was the doctor who released a statement on Woods’ social media accounts earlier this week. “To respect patient confidentiality, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center will not provide any further information about the patient’s care.

“On behalf of our staff, it was an honor to provide orthopaedic care trauma care to one of our generation’s greatest athletes.”

Woods was involved in a serious accident, was wearing seatbelt

The accident happened just after 7 a.m. Tuesday on Hawthorne Blvd. near Rolling Hills Estates. A neighbor alerted local authorities at 7:12 a.m. First responders found Woods in the driver’s seat wearing his seatbelt.

Woods was conscious, had to be extricated from car by authorities

When first responders reached Woods he was conscious but unable to remove himself from the vehicle. He was “lucid and calm,” according to Deputy Carlos Gonzalez. The L.A. Fire Department arrived at 7:28 a.m. and worked to extricate Woods from the vehicle. Despite earlier reports, the Jaws of Life was not employed, but the fire department did use various tools to remove the windshield from the vehicle and safely remove Woods.

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‘No evidence of impairment’, deemed ‘purely an accident’

Woods has been involved in multiple car accidents, one of those, in 2017, involving a DUI. Authorities on the scene said that Woods showed “no evidence of impairment.” On Wednesday, Sherriff Alex Villanueva spoke to reporters for a second time and clarified that Woods would not be charged with reckless driving. He called the incident, “purely an accident.” Potential other charges will be assessed following the incident investigation.

Woods was unable to stand under his own volition

According to Gonzalez, Woods was unable to stand on his own and according to Fire Chief Daryl Osby, Woods was placed on a backboard and loaded into an ambulance for transportation to Harbor-UCLA Medical Hospital, approximately 8 miles from the accident scene.

Woods underwent “long surgical procedure”

Woods’ agent Mark Steinberg confirmed that Woods was “in surgery” Tuesday afternoon, the extent of which was shared Tuesday night. Woods’ team released a statement confirming the golfer suffered multiple compound fractures as well as injuries to the foot and ankle. Trauma to the area and soft-tissue was relieved during surgery, according to Anish Mahajan, Chief MD at Harbor-UCLA. You can read the entire statement below.

No one else was injured in the accident

Woods’ accident was a single-car accident and Woods was the only person in the vehicle. The Sheriff’s Dept. did note that a secondary accident took place from onlookers but that no one was injured.

‘Very fortunate that Mr. Woods was able to come out of this alive’

Deputy Gonzalez said he has seen many collisions and even fatal accidents in the area where Woods’ accident took place. One of the final answers from his press conference outlined the severity of the crash.

“The nature of his vehicle, the fact that he was wearing his seatbelt, I would say it greatly increased the likelihood it saved his life,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve been doing this for a while and I’ve seen fatal traffic collisions, so I will say it’s very fortunate that Mr. Woods was able to come out of this alive.” 

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The road he was traveling on is a steep hill

Hawthorne Blvd. is considered a “steep” road by locals and very much a “trouble spot” by law enforcement, police said Tuesday. While the posted speed limit is 45 mph, Deputy Gonzalez said he has seen cars traveling in excess of 80 mph on that stretch. In the last 14 months, there have been 13 accidents in that vicinity, four with injuries, according to Sherriff Villanueva. Woods was heading northbound (down the hill) when his vehicle crossed the median, taking out a sign before hitting the opposing curb and rolling over in brush across the southbound side of the road.

Woods was in the area following the Genesis Invitational

Woods was the host of the Genesis Invitational, which concluded at L.A.’s Riviera County Club on Sunday, and was on hand to congratulate champion Max Homa. Woods remained in the vicinity in the following days for a video shoot.