Tiger Woods was driving at an “unsafe” speed, nearly double the 45 mph limit when he crashed in California in February, the Los Angeles County’s sheriff department said on Wednesday.
Woods was travelling at up to 87 miles (140 kilometres) an hour before his car flew off the road and flipped several times during the accident in Ranchos Palos Verdes. The 15-time major champion golfing legend shattered his right leg as a result.
“The primary causal factor for this traffic collision was driving at a speed unsafe for the road conditions and the inability to negotiate the curve of the roadway,” said the police.
There were “no signs of impairment” or evidence of any “distracted driving”.
Woods, who has 15 Majors titles, may have inadvertently accelerated instead of braked when he lost control, according to the police. Woods doesn’t recall the incident.
The serious leg injuries sustained by Woods may affect his future career. Woods won the 2019 Masters for his first major title in 11 years in an astonishing comeback after multiple back surgeries.
Woods underwent hours of surgery after the car accident to repair his shattered lower right leg and ankle, which included the insertion of a rod into his shinbone, and screws and pins to stabilise the joint.
Woods was in the Los Angeles area for his annual Genesis Invitational golf tournament at the Riviera Country Club, and was driving a courtesy car on the morning of the crash. The police dismissed claims that Woods had been observed driving erratically earlier that morning, saying that video surveillance footage showed the golfer travelling at normal, safe speeds at the beginning of his journey.
Sheriff Villanueva described the stretch of road as “hazardous” as many people approached it too fast due to the road’s design. The district supervisor was planning to introduce traffic control measures to reduce speeds.
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