Tiger Woods Seriously Injured in High-Speed Rollover Crash in California

The world’s most famous golfer is said to have suffered compound fractures in his legs.

byJames Gilboy|
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Professional golfer Eldrick "Tiger" Woods has been hospitalized with serious leg injuries following a high-speed rollover crash in southern California that required first responders cut him free from the wrecked Genesis GV80 he was driving, according to authorities and Woods' representatives. The crash occurred this morning in a residential area of the Palos Verdes peninsula in southwestern Los Angeles County.

The Los Angeles County Sheriffs stated on Twitter that it received reports around 7:12 am of a single-vehicle crash along Hawthorne Boulevard on the peninsula. Authorities responded to find a rolled SUV with a single occupant, Woods, trapped inside and in need of medical attention. Woods was extracted through the vehicle's windshield and whisked to a nearby hospital, where he entered surgery for leg injuries according to a statement issued to Associated Press. Anonymous sources within law enforcement told the Los Angeles Times that Woods' condition is "moderate to critical," and a LA County Fire Department spokesperson later classified his injuries as "serious."

Another law enforcement source told the New York Times that Woods suffered compound fractures in his legs.

Tiger Woods' rolled Genesis GV80 luxury SUV, via Twitter

Woods was in the Los Angeles area for this past weekend's Genesis Invitational golf tournament, named so for its sponsor Genesis, the nascent Korean luxury brand. Driving a Genesis GV80 promo car with in which he was photographed on Sunday, Woods was reportedly traveling northbound on a gently curving section of Hawthorne "at a high rate of speed" before he lost control, crossed the road's divider, veering off into the roadside brush and rolling multiple times. Authorities told TMZ they have ruled out the influence of alcohol, though other substances haven't been mentioned.

It was an infamous car crash back in 2009 that first exposed some fissures in Woods' carefully curated public image—as chronicled in the recent HBO documentary on his life—and Woods has previously been arrested for driving under the influence, having been found unconscious at the wheel in May 2017. On that occasion, Woods' inebriation was attributed to side effects of prescription drugs.

The official investigation into the cause of today's crash is ongoing. But one thing is extremely clear: looking at the trail of wreckage behind the GV80 in the aerial shot below, Tiger Woods is lucky to be alive. This story is breaking and will be updated.

UPDATE 2/23 @ 6:00 p.m.: Los Angeles County Fire Department officials have confirmed that despite prior reports from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office, the Jaws of Life hydraulic rescue tool was not used to extract Woods from the vehicle. First responders were able to pull him through the windshield. The headline and relevant text in the story have been updated.

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