Tiger Woods, who suffered severe injuries from a solo car crash after his SUV rolled over in steep terrain near Los Angeles, is currently awake and recovering, according to the hospital treating the golf star.
Woods, 45, had “significant orthopaedic injuries to his right lower extremity that were treated during emergency surgery,” Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Chief Medical Officer Anish Mahajan said in a statement posted to the athlete’s Twitter account.
Woods was traveling on a winding, downhill road that has been the scene of frequent accidents, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. There are indications that the golfer was traveling at a “relatively greater speed than normal,” he said.
Woods’s car hit a sign and a tree before coming to a stop in the brush. There was no evidence he was impaired and blood wasn’t drawn to determine if he was, Villanueva said. A neighbor reported the accident. Woods was conscious when first responders arrived and extricated him from a Genesis GV80 using an ax and other tools.
Deputy Carlos Gonzalez, who responded to the scene, said he asked Woods his name and when the athlete identified himself, “at that moment, I immediately recognized him.” The deputy said Woods was wearing a seatbelt and that airbags had deployed. He wasn’t able to stand on his own.
“It’s very fortunate that Mr. Woods was able to come out of this alive,” he said.
