- Tiger Woods was hospitalized after sustaining multiple injuries in a car crash in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
- Officials say his injuries are not life-threatening, but his agent said the golfer is “currently in surgery.”
- Below is a timeline of how the devastating rollover crash unfolded on Tuesday morning.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Superstar golfer Tiger Woods is currently hospitalized after sustaining “multiple injuries” a major car crash in Los Angeles Tuesday morning.
Woods was the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, a 2021 Genesis GV80 SUV, which rolled over on the side of the road in Ranchos Palos Verdes in south Los Angeles county. Woods “suffered multiple leg injuries” in the crash according to his agent, Mark Steinberg, and was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center to undergo surgery.
Officials said Woods sustained non-life-threatening injuries, The New York Times reported. The incident is still under investigation by authorities.
Here’s a timeline of how the incident unfolded:
The single-vehicle crash happened at Hawthorne Boulevard, north of Palos Verdes Drive, at 7:12 a.m. local time on Tuesday, LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said during a press conference Tuesday.
Authorities arrived at the scene six minutes later. Another crash occurred during the investigation of the incident because of "people being looky-loos," Villanueva said, but no injuries resulted from it.
There was no initial evidence of driver impairment, Villanueva said. When first responders went to extract Woods from the vehicle, he was alive and conscious and identified himself to Lomita Station Deputy Sheriff Carlos Gonzalez, who was the first officer on the scene.
"He told me his name was Tiger, and at that moment, I immediately recognized him," Gonzalez said at the press conference, adding that the golfer was unable to "stand under his own power" and was put on a backboard.
Chief Daryl Osby of the LA County Fire Department told reporters on Tuesday that first responders and firefighters were able to extract Woods from the vehicle using an axe and other prying tools. Osby also refuted earlier reports that the "Jaws of Life" - a hydraulic rescue tool used by emergency authorities - was used to pull Woods out of the car.
It was not immediately clear how long it took to extricate the golfer from the car. Osby said Woods was in "serious condition" but "stable enough to transport to a trauma center" following the crash.
"If the injuries were more dramatic and they couldn't control an airway, then they would have transported him to the nearest facility, but the fact that he was stable enough to be transported to a hospital further away - which was the most appropriate hospital to be transported [to] because of the nature of the injuries, the nature of the incident, says that it was a very serious injury. He met trauma center criteria, but he wasn't so serious that he needed to be transported to [the] nearest hospital for immediate life-saving procedures," Osby continued.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Woods' injuries included a shattered ankle and two leg fractures, but authorities have yet to confirm the extent of his injuries.
The golf star was "lucky to be alive" following the crash, Villanueva said. He said the area "has a high frequency of accidents," and that Woods was driving at a "relatively greater speed than normal."
The speed limit for the road where the crash occurred is 45 miles per hour.
Villanueva said the vehicle, which authorities said sustained "major damage," traveled several hundred feet from the center median, adding that it also hit the curb and then a tree. The Times reported that the vehicle rolled over several times.
This story is developing. Check back for more details.
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