No Criminal Charges Being Considered Against Tiger Woods For Crash, Sheriff Says: 'He Was Lucid'
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Authorities are not considering bringing any criminal charges against golfer Tiger Woods for the Rancho Palos Verdes wreck which left him seriously injured, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Wednesday morning.
Villanueva told reporters that no criminal charges are being considered against the 45-year-old Woods at this time.
"No, a reckless driving charge has a lot of elements to it, this is purely an accident," Villanueva said.
The sheriff also reiterated that there was no sign that Woods was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.
"There was no evidence of any impairment whatsoever, he was lucid," Villanueva said.
The sheriff explained that investigators have not yet pulled the SUV's black box, which could give them information about how fast Woods was traveling at the time of the wreck.
"That has not been pulled yet, we will pull it...we're hoping obviously that it's gonna be equipped with this black box and it will have some information about the speed," Villanueva said.
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At 7:12 a.m. Tuesday, Woods was traveling north on Hawthorne Boulevard, at Blackhorse Road, when his SUV struck the center divider, crossed it and careened across all southbound lanes, hit a tree, rolled over, and came to a stop on its side in some nearby brush.
Woods was extricated from the SUV by firefighters and rushed to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, where he underwent a lengthy surgery for fractures on his right leg and ankle. He is expected to survive.
Woods had stayed overnight at the Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes and may have been late to an appointment when he crashed.