Golf star Tiger Woods was in the hospital on Tuesday morning after a serious rollover accident near Rancho Palos Verdes, said the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Woods was the only occupant of a Genesis GV80 SUV that was traveling north on Hawthorne Boulevard on Blackhorse Road when it crashed shortly after 7 am, officials said. The vehicle suffered major damage and Woods had to be removed from the wreckage by Los Angeles County firefighters and paramedics, sheriff officials said.
Sources said it had to be removed through the car’s windshield.
“Because of the situation and the way you found the vehicle, it was unable to open the door and get out,” said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Henry Narvaez. “We set you free; we help you to get out of the vehicle ”.
Woods was transported to the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center by ambulance, where he is in a “serious” condition and is being treated for his injuries, the Fire Department said.
Woods “suffered several injuries to his legs. He is currently in surgery and we thank him for his privacy and support, ”said his manager, Mark Steinberg.
Aerial footage of the accident scene showed Woods’ vehicle lying about 30 meters from the road, tipped over.
Woods was in Los Angeles to host the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club, a golf tournament that ended on Sunday. He did not play at the event as he was recovering from his fifth back surgery, but told CBS announcer Jim Nantz in an interview during the final round that he hoped to play at the Masters in April.
“God, I hope so. I have to get there first, ”said Woods in the interview. “A lot of this is based on my surgeons, doctors and therapist and making sure I do everything correctly. This is the only lap I have; I don’t have much more room for maneuver left. “
According to several reports, Woods was on the golf course filming something for Golf Digest on Monday, and both retired NBA star Dwyane Wade and comedian David Spade tweeted that they were playing with him that day.
Law enforcement sources who requested anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly about the matter told The Times that Woods was traveling at high speed and lost control of the vehicle before crossing the central partition. Woods’ SUV spun several times before stopping. The authorities did not reveal the cause of the accident.
The accident occurred on a steep, winding stretch of Hawthorne Boulevard, an important road that cuts through the Palos Verdes Peninsula, where signs warn trucks to use lower gears when going down. The road was closed on Tuesday morning while MPs investigated.
Sheriff’s delegates specializing in accident investigations were photographing the scene and were scheduled to take measurements and detail the debris before they were removed. The front end of the SUV was heavily damaged and the windshield frame was removed where Woods was removed from the vehicle.
Bob Fong, 67, who lives on Blackhorse Road, north of the crash site, noticed police cars on Hawthorne Boulevard on Tuesday morning and thought, “It must have been some big celebrity that crashed.”
Fong knows how complicated the curves on the steep Hawthorne Boulevard can be – so much so that near the crash site there is a runway for use in emergencies.
This is not the first car accident that Woods is involved in. In 2009, when he backed out of his garage in a gated community near Orlando, Florida, his Cadillac SUV hit a fire hydrant and hit a neighbor’s tree.
In 2017, Woods was arrested in Jupiter, Florida, after police found him sleeping at the wheel of his car. Woods said later that the incident was caused by an “unexpected reaction to prescription drugs”.
The Times editor Christina Schoellkopf contributed to this report.