Earlier on Wednesday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said that speed was the primary cause of Woods’ single-car rollover crash
Staff
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, along with Captain James Powers, announced that the collision’s primary cause involving golfer Tiger Woods was driving at a speed unsafe for the road conditions and the inability to negotiate the curve of the roadway.
On Tuesday, February 23, Tiger Woods was involved in a traffic collision on Hawthorne Blvd., in Rancho Palos Verdes.
According to the vehicle’s event data recorder, commonly known as a “black box,” estimated speeds at the first area of impact were 84 to 87 mph, and when the vehicle made a final impact on a tree, the speed was 75 mph.
Villanueva stated no citations were issued, and Woods showed no signs of impairment. Contrary to various reports, “Mr. Woods did not receive preferential treatment, and the primary concern after the crash was providing the medical care needed to survive his life-threatening injuries“, he said.
Captain Powers reiterated that there was no evidence of impairment, no odor of alcohol, no open containers, no narcotics or evidence of medication on the vehicle or in his person.
“There was no evidence of braking throughout this collision,” Powers said. “It is speculated and believed that Tiger Woods inadvertently hit the accelerator instead of the brake pedal, causing that 99 percent rating on the accelerator pedal.”
Woods has not been cited or charged. Powers explained a speeding ticket usually needs to be observed by an independent witness or a peace officer in order to stand up in court, neither of which were present during this crash.
“The Event Data Recorder, that tells us physically what happened,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva said, “but we need a human being to witness it.“
Also, due to the traumatic nature of his injuries, it would have been inappropriate to administer a sobriety test. Since there was no observation by a peace officer, a citation was not issued.
Cell phone records were not reviewed because the only factors of the accident were speed and the failure to maintain the roadway’s curvature. There was no probable cause to obtain bloodwork at the hospital because, based on the facts, there was no evidence of intoxication or impairment.
According to the event data recorder, it is believed that Tiger Woods inadvertently hit the accelerator instead of the brakes.
Tiger Woods has released a statement following the conclusion of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office investigation into his February car crash — but the pro golfer didn’t mention that he was found to have been speeding nearly 40 miles over the speed limit at the time.
“In the last few days, I received words from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department that their investigation regarding my traffic accident back on February 23rd in Los Angeles has been completed and closed,” Woods, 45, said in a statement shared on Twitter Wednesday.
