Investigators reveal Tiger Woods' driving speed at the time of his car crash
Los Angeles, California - Tiger Woods was driving at nearly twice the posted speed limit of 45 miles per hour before he hit a sharp turn and crashed on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in February, the Los Angeles County Sheriff said Wednesday in a long-awaited report on the accident that left the golf legend seriously injured.
The excessive speed at which Woods was driving the borrowed Hyundai Genesis SUV was the single cause of the February 23 crash, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said. The 45-year-old suffered severe ankle and leg injuries that threaten his playing career
Investigators examined the SUV’s advanced data systems to determine the golf star reached speeds between 84 and 87 mph around the time of the crash in Rancho Palos Verdes. The sheriff revealed the information after Woods waived any objection to its release.
Instead of reducing his speed into the curvy stretch of Hawthorne Boulevard, Woods was accelerating, which made investigators suspect he had mistaken the gas for the brake pedal.
Woods’ SUV crossed through two oncoming lanes and uprooted a tree before rolling over on a downhill stretch that police said is known for wrecks.
No signs of alcohol or drugs
Tiger Woods is now in Florida recovering from multiple surgeries. He told investigators he has no recollection of what happened.
Deputy Carlos Gonzalez, the lead crash investigator in the case and the first deputy to arrive at the scene, has said publicly that he did not observe anything that led him to suspect Woods was under the influence, which gave him no grounds for testing the golfer for alcohol, narcotics or prescription drugs.
Woods was calm and lucid, he added. In February, Villanueva had said there was no evidence suggesting reckless driving.
Cover photo: collage: IMAGO / ZUMA Wire / UPI Photo