Tiger Woods has no memory of crash that shattered his right leg, sheriff says
Tiger Woods reportedly has no memory of the car accident that shattered his right leg.
“He had no recollection of the crash itself” when asked about it by investigators at the hospital, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday night.
Woods, 45, has been recovering from emergency surgery after his terrifying Tuesday morning crash on the border of Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills estates left him pinned in a badly mangled 2021 Genesis GV80 SUV.
His girlfriend Erica Herman was spotted visiting him at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center along with his caddy Joe LaCava, according to photos published by TMZ.
The cause of the near-fatal accident remains under investigation, Villanueva said during a Facebook Live chat earlier Wednesday.
“We don’t contemplate any charges whatsoever in this crash,” Villanueva said “This remains an accident. An accident is not a crime.”
The sheriff said Woods could be cited for inattentive driving, but that would be an infraction, not a misdemeanor.
Authorities have said Woods did not appear intoxicated at the scene and there was no immediate evidence alcohol or drugs played a role in the crash, so investigators had no probable cause to collect any of Woods’ fluids for toxicology testing.
Villanueva said investigators would need to come up with probable cause and get a search warrant to test any blood drawn from Woods at the hospital.
He said a search warrant also will be needed to search Woods’ phone records to determine whether he was actively using his phone at the time of the 7 a.m. crash.
Medical experts, meanwhile, believe Woods’ recovery will be long and arduous, likely taking a year.
Woods’ official Twitter account said he suffered “significant orthopaedic injuries to his right lower extremity.”
“Comminuted open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula bones were stabilized by inserting a rod into the tibia,” the statement said.
“Additional injuries to the bones of the foot and ankle were stabilized with a combination of screws and pins,” it said, adding that surgeons had to “release” pressure caused by trauma to his muscles and soft tissue.
“I think he’s probably in for a long recovery. Any time somebody has this type of open fracture that’s comminuted and requires a fasciotomy to release pressure on the muscles, it signifies how much trauma there was to the limb,” Dr. Jeremy Podolnick, an orthopedic surgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, told The News.
“Usually that correlates to a longer recovery. It could take a year for Tiger to return to his prior function,” Dr. Podolnick said.
“In the short term, he could face some potential issues as the bone heals. The bone was exposed to the air and potentially bacteria as well, so making sure no infections develop will be the first step. Then in the longer term, there will be a lot of physical therapy and rehab to try to get back to that high level of play,” he said.
“In general, when there’s a break that involves a joint surface like the ankle or foot, I would delay initiation of weight-bearing for about three months. I would venture they’ll wait two or three months before it’s time for him to start walking again,” Dr. Podolnick said.
Villanueva said speed may have been a factor in the crash and investigators hoped to recover the so-called “black box” inside the SUV on loan through the Genesis Invitational golf tournament he was in town to attend.
Woods was driving north on a steep downward slope of Hawthorne Boulevard just before Palos Verdes Drive North when he lost control of his vehicle, jumped a center divider, crossed over opposing lanes of traffic, hit another curb and a tree and rolled onto an embankment, authorities said.
“We heard the crash from inside. We have single-pane glass and it was pretty close,” nearby resident Keith Cole, 56, told The News. “We heard a series of loud noises, but no brakes. It was definitely a big impact. It was obviously a huge car.”
He said that stretch of Hawthorne is known for crashes due to its steep gradient and 45 mph speed limit.
“When you hit the light at the top of Silver Spur Road and start heading down, it’s almost like a NASCAR race. Cars go way too fast and change lanes pretty fast,” Cole said.
