Tiger Woods car crash: Sheriff says golfer won't face reckless driving charges

Legendary golfer Tiger Woods will not be facing any criminal charges related to the devastating car accident that left him hospitalised with major injuries. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva on February 24 said that the golfer was not under the influence of any substance, and there was “no evidence” of any impairment whatsoever. While speaking to reporters, Villanueva said that Woods was lucid and there was no odour of alcohol, no evidence of any medication, narcotics and anything like that. 

According to The Independent, the LA County Sheriff said that the most Woods could face would be a low-level offence known as an infraction if investigators conclude that he was not paying attention or speeding. Villanueva added that as there was no evidence of drugs or alcohol, and as reckless driving has a lot of elements to it, Wood’s car crash was “purely an accident”. He said that the officials don’t contemplate any charges whatsoever in the crash. 

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“This remains an accident. An accident is not a crime. They do happen, unfortunately,” the sheriff said. 

Further, LA authorities hope that Woods’ brand new SUV was equipped with an in-vehicle data recorder that may help shed some light on the cause of the accident. Villanueva said that the officials are hoping that there is going to be a black box that will help them have some information about the speed. Woods had crashed a loaded $50,000 Genesis GV80 SUV while driving downhill on a steep and winding stretch of the road shortly after 7am on Tuesday. 

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Woods’ car accident 

Woods' legendary career was put in jeopardy following the “high-speed” single-car accident outside Los Angeles. According to Golf Digest, the 45-year-old was driving at a “relatively greater speed than normal” when his vehicle crossed onto the wrong side of the road before veering off the road entirely and onto a hillside. The report further stated that the interior of the vehicle that Woods was driving, remained intact and combined with the fact that Woods was wearing a seatbelt, allowed him to escape what would have otherwise been a fatal crash.

Further, a TMZ report stated that the golf legend had left his LA hotel “agitated and impatient” and almost crashed into the car of the director for whom he was filming an advertisement at the hotel, not long before the accident took place. As the extent of the injuries to Woods is being deemed career-threatening by many, several celebrities, including Stephen Curry, Barack Obama, Zach LaVine and Isaiah Thomas, wished Woods a speedy recovery. 

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