Tiger Woods is in ‘good spirits’ and ‘knows he is very lucky to be alive’ after horror car crash that left him needing emergency surgery
- A source said the 45-year-old golfer is aware he had a very close scrape with death when he rolled his SUV multiple times in California back on February 23
- Woods is just ‘happy to be back home’ and ‘is focused on his continued recovery’
- The golfer is ‘excited’ to be near his 12-year-old son Charlie Axel, 12, and 13-year-old daughter Sam Alexis again
- The 15-time major winner announced last week he had left hospital following lengthy surgery on his right leg to stabilize his shattered tibia and fibula bones
- Questions continue to mount over the cause of the crash and the LA County Sheriff’s Department’s handling of the investigation
- Last week, it emerged that the evidence suggest Woods did ‘nothing to prevent’ the crash, never hitting the brakes or taking his foot off the gas
- The golfer was not given a sobriety test at the scene and a drug recognition expert was not called in to examine him
- Woods told deputies he didn’t remember the moments before the crash
- But the sheriff’s department labeled the crash an ‘accident’ within hours of it happening and said were no signs Woods was impaired
Tiger Woods is said to be in ‘good spirits’ and ‘knows he is very lucky to be alive’ following his horror car crash that left him needing emergency surgery.
A source told People the 45-year-old golfer is aware he had a very close scrape with death when he rolled his SUV multiple times in California back on February 23.
The 15-time major winner announced last week he had left hospital following lengthy surgery on his right leg to stabilize his shattered tibia and fibula bones.
While Woods now continues his recovery from his home in Florida, questions continue to mount over the cause of the crash and the LA County Sheriff’s Department’s handling of the investigation.
Last week, it emerged Woods seems to have done ‘nothing to prevent’ the crash, failing to hit the brakes or take his foot off the gas as he careered across the road.
Yet, within a matter of hours of the incident, the sheriff’s department, which is still examining the vehicle’s black box, had written off the crash as an ‘accident’ and said were no signs Woods was impaired at the time.
The golfer was not given a sobriety test at the scene and a drug recognition expert was not called in, despite Woods telling deputies he didn’t remember driving his SUV in the moments leading up to the crash.
Tiger Woods is said to be in ‘good spirits’ and ‘knows he is very lucky to be alive’ following his horror car crash that left him needing emergency surgery. Pictured in October 2019
The insider told People the golf star is just ‘happy to be back home’ now as he focuses on the next stage of his rehabilitation.
‘Tiger is happy to be back home,’ they said.
‘He is still recovering and has some pain, but he is in good spirits.
‘He is focused on his continued recovery. There is a rehabilitation plan that he is focused on. He knows he is very lucky to be alive.’
Woods ‘appreciates’ the medical care he has received so far and is ‘excited’ to now be able to see his 12-year-old son Charlie Axel, 12, and 13-year-old daughter Sam Alexis, they added.
‘He appreciates that he has access to great medical care. He has a great attitude and is just focused on his recovery,’ the source said.
‘He has spent some time with his kids. They stayed in touch while he was in the hospital, but he was excited to see them in person.’
Woods announced in a social media post Tuesday that he had left hospital after an almost three-week stay to continue his recovery at home.
‘Happy to report that I am back home and continuing my recovery,’ the star tweeted.
‘I am so grateful for the outpouring of support and encouragement that I have received over the past few weeks.
A source told People the 45-year-old golfer is aware he had a very close scrape with death when he rolled his SUV multiple times in California back on February 23. Pictured the car after the crash
Woods was involved in a single-vehicle accident at 7.18 am local time on the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes in southern Los Angeles February 23 as he was traveling to a golf course to film a show with NFL stars
A crane is used to lift the car following the crash in the Rancho Palos Verdes suburb of Los Angeles
‘Thank you to the incredible surgeons, doctors, nurses and staff at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
He added: ‘You have all taken such great care of me and I cannot thank you enough. I will be recovering at home and working on getting stronger every day.’
Woods was involved in a single-vehicle accident at 7.18 am local time on the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes in southern Los Angeles February 23 as he was traveling to a golf course to film a show with NFL stars.
The SUV, which was loaned to him by his PGA tournament, crossed the center-divider and rolled multiple times across two lanes of the intersection, before uprooting a tree and coming to a stop in the brush by the roadside.
Firefighters had to use a pry bar and an ax to help cut him from the wreckage before he was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery on his right leg.
He also sustained injuries to the bones of the foot and ankle which had to be stabilized with screws and pins.
A source said the golfer is ‘excited’ to be near his 12-year-old son Charlie Axel, 12, and 13-year-old daughter Sam Alexis again (pictured together in 2016)
The 15-time major winner announced last week (above) he had left hospital following lengthy surgery on his right leg to stabilize his shattered tibia and fibula bones
While the cause of the crash is still under investigation, the LA County Sheriff’s Department has been forced to shield suggestions that the golfer was given special treatment due to his fame.
New evidence in the probe suggests Woods may not have hit the brakes or even taken his foot off the gas after he lost control of the car, according to a report Saturday.
Law enforcement sources told TMZ Woods was driving at a normal speed before he arrived at the site of the crash, but is believed to have then floored it at some point and lost control.
The sheriff’s department is continuing to examine the vehicle’s ‘black box’, which so far shows Woods did not try to slow down.
The new evidence appears to support forensic experts’ earlier theories that Woods may have fallen asleep at the wheel as well as the lack of skid marks at the scene.
Woods told police immediately after the crash that he didn’t remember the accident but it has since emerged in police reports that he also told them he did not remember driving in the moments beforehand.
Police say Woods was travelling at a high speed when he hit a raised median, smashed through a wooden road sign, splintered a tree and then rolled his SUV
While the cause of the crash is still under investigation, the LA County Sheriff’s Department has been forced to shield suggestions that the golfer was given special treatment due to his fame. Pictured LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva
A witness also said Woods was ‘unconscious and not responding to his questions’ when they were first person to arrive on the scene, according to an affidavit.
Several forensic experts have said this suggests Woods was possibly inattentive or asleep when the SUV veered off course and that a drug-recognition expert should have been brought in to assess the golfing champion for possible signs of impairment.
But, the golfer was not given a sobriety test and a drug-recognition expert was not brought in.
Within hours of the crash, Sheriff Alex Villanueva gave a press briefing saying there was not ‘any evidence of impairment’ and labeling the crash ‘purely an accident.’
Villanueva defended the handling of the probe last week doubling down that there was no ‘obvious evidence of impairment’ and insisting the star did not receive ‘special treatment’ but that drug-recognition experts ‘cost money.’
‘He was lucid, no odor of alcohol, no evidence of any medication, narcotics or anything like that would bring that into question,’ Villanueva said Wednesday.
‘So that was not a concern at the time.’
He added: ‘For anybody suggesting he somehow received any different treatment than anybody else, he did not.’
The final report from the investigation will be completed in the coming weeks.
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