Cause of Tiger Woods crash found

LOS ANGELES: The Los Angeles County sheriff said detectives have determined what caused Tiger Woods to crash his sport utility vehicle (SUV) last month in Southern California but declined to release details, citing unspecified privacy concerns for the golf star.

Tiger Woods
AFP FILE PHOTO

Woods suffered serious injuries when he struck a raised median in Rolling Hills Estates, just outside Los Angeles in the February 23 crash around 7 a.m. The Genesis SUV he was driving crossed through two oncoming lanes and uprooted a tree on a downhill stretch that police said is known for wrecks. Woods is in Florida recovering from multiple surgeries.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva has been criticized for his comments about the crash, calling it “purely an accident” and saying there was no evidence of impairment. Woods told deputies he did not know how the crash occurred and didn’t remember driving.

He was unconscious when a witness first approached the mangled SUV. A sheriff’s deputy said the athlete later appeared to be in shock but was conscious and able to answer basic questions.

Investigators did not seek a search warrant for Woods’ blood samples, which could be screened for drugs and alcohol.

In 2017, Woods checked himself into a clinic for help in dealing with prescription drug medication after a driving under the influence-charge in his home state of Florida.

However, detectives did obtain a search warrant for the data recorder of the 2021 Genesis GV80 SUV, known as a black box. On Wednesday, Villanueva would not say what data had been recovered from the black box.

“A cause has been determined. The investigation has concluded,” Villanueva said during a live social media event on Wednesday.

Villanueva claimed investigators need permission from Woods — who previously named his yacht “Privacy” — to make public information about the crash.

“We have reached out to Tiger Woods and his personnel,” Villanueva said. “There’s some privacy issues on releasing information on the investigation. So, we’re going to ask them if they waive the privacy, and then we will be able to do a full release on all the information regarding the accident.”

Woods’ agent at Excel Sports, Mark Steinberg, did not respond to an email seeking comment.

“We have all the contents of the black box. We’ve got everything,” Villanueva said. “It’s completed, signed, sealed and delivered. However, we can’t release it without the permission of the people involved in the collision.”