ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, California – A man found Tiger Woods unconscious in a wrecked SUV after the golf star hit the vehicle in Southern California, officials said in court documents obtained on Friday.
The man, who lives near the site in Rolling Hills Estates, heard the accident and walked over to the SUV, Sheriff Johann Schloegl of Los Angeles County wrote in a sworn statement.
The man told deputies that Woods would not answer his questions.
The first deputy to arrive on the scene, Carlos Gonzalez, said Woods was able to speak to him and answer basic questions. Woods later told police that he did not know how the collision occurred and did not remember driving.
Police have not previously disclosed that Woods was unconscious after the accident.
The information came in a statement of probable cause requesting that a search warrant be approved for the Genesis SUV data recorder, known as the black box. Schloegl requested data for February 22 and 23. The accident occurred around 7 am on February 23.
“I believe the data will explain how / why the collision occurred,” wrote Schloegl.
The sheriff’s representatives declined to say what was discovered on the tape recorder.
The 2021 GV80 driven by Woods pulled off a Los Angeles County road and hit a downhill stretch known as shipwrecks. The accident injured Woods’ right leg, requiring surgery.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva said that Woods drove alone in good weather, there was no evidence of disability and that the accident was “purely an accident”.
Schloegl previously told USA Today that he did not seek a search warrant for Woods’ blood samples, which could be examined for drugs and alcohol. In 2017, Woods checked into a clinic for help dealing with prescription drugs after a DUI charge in Florida.
The long surgery after the accident was to stabilize the broken bones of the tibia and fibula in his right leg. A combination of screws and pins was used for ankle and foot injuries.
It was the tenth surgery of his career, which took place two months after a fifth back surgery. For all that, Woods has never gone an entire year without playing, since his first PGA Tour event when he was 16 in high school.