Golf star Tiger Woods was “lucky to be alive” Tuesday after being seriously injured in a rollover crash near Rancho Palos Verdes, the Los Angeles County sheriff said.
Woods was the sole occupant of a 2021 Genesis GV80 SUV that was traveling north on Hawthorne Boulevard at Blackhorse Road when he crashed just after 7 a.m., authorities said.
The vehicle sustained major damage, and Woods had to be extricated from the wreckage by personnel from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, sheriff’s officials said.
Woods was said to have been driving at a “greater speed than normal” when his S.U.V. went over a median strip and rolled over several times.
A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who was the first to arrive said he found Woods still in the driver’s seat, wearing his seatbelt, and that the golfer was able to tell him his name was Tiger.
The 15-time major champion was lucid and calm, but potentially in shock, and didn’t seem to be concerned with his injuries at the time, Deputy Carlos Gonzalez said.
Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby told CNN’s John Berman that Woods was alert and oriented and was trying to “self-extricate” but he was stuck.
Firefighters used a pry bar and an ax to free the golfer, who this past weekend hosted a PGA Tour event in the area but didn’t play because of a recent back surgery.
They broke the windshield with the ax and used the bar to pry the seats and metal from around Woods’ legs, Osby said.
They put Woods in a neck collar, attached leg splints and used a backboard to get him through the giant hole in the windshield to an ambulance. He went to the hospital in serious but stable condition with injuries to both legs, Osby said.
Golf legend Tiger Woods is awake and recovering from surgery, according to a statement posted early Wednesday on his official Twitter account.