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Tiger Woods was speeding before crash: LA police

April 7, 2021

The 45-year-old golf champion is now recovering at his home in Florida after leaving hospital earlier this month. Officers say Tiger Woods was approaching double the legal speed limit when he lost control.

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USA I Tiger Woods I Unfall
Image: AP/picture alliance

The US champion golfer Tiger Woods was traveling at almost double the speed limit when he crashed his car in California in February, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department reported on Wednesday.

The 45-year-old was "extricated from the wreck" of his vehicle at the scene of the accident in Ranchos Palos Verdes.

What did the police say?

Officials said Woods was doing 84 to 87 miles per hour (135-140 kilometers per hour) in an area that had a speed limit of 45 mph before he flipped his SUV several times. 

LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said: "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."

Police said the former world number one told them he was not under the influence of alcohol or medication at the time of the crash. Initial speculation on possible causes for the crash had centered on Woods' previous 2017 arrest when he was found asleep at the wheel at the roadside and subsequently failed a toxicology test on multiple counts.

Genesis Invitational Golf I Tiger Woods
Woods just two days before the crashImage: Ryan Kang/AP/picture alliance

What happened on February 23?

Rescue crews found him unconscious with his face and chin covered in blood.

The American sports star, who has 15 Major titles to his name, needed surgery for fractures to his leg, as well as injuries to his foot and ankle.

Woods only left hospital earlier this month following the accident on February 23; he is now recovering in Florida.

Tiger Woods with 2020 masters champion Dustin Johnson
Tiger Woods last won the Masters in 2019Image: Kyodo/picture alliance

Woods, who is originally from the Los Angeles area, had been back home to host his PGA tournament, the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, when the crash happened.

Rory McIlroy, a four-time major golf champion who lives near Woods in Florida, said he visited him on March 21.

“It was good to see him in decent spirits," the golfer from Northern Ireland said. "When you hear of these things and you look at the car and you see the crash, you think he's going to be in a hospital bed for six months. But he was actually doing better than that."

jf/msh (AP, AFP)