LOS ANGELES (AP) – Authorities were scheduled to announce Wednesday what caused Tiger Woods to crash an SUV in February in Southern California, a shipwreck that severely injured the golf superstar.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva previously said detectives had determined the cause of the crash, but would not release him, citing privacy issues and the alleged need for Woods’ permission to disclose information.
The sheriff planned to discuss the results of the investigation, including “causal factors,” during a press conference Wednesday morning in Los Angeles, according to the sheriff’s department statement.
It was not immediately clear whether Woods participated in the expected announcement.
Documents are displayed that Woods told MPs he didn’t know how the accident happened and that he didn’t remember driving. At the time of the accident, Woods was recovering from a fifth back surgery, which took place two months earlier.
Woods, originally from the Los Angeles area, had returned home to host his PGA Tour, the Genesis Invitational at the Riviera Country Club, when the clash happened on February 23rd.
He was driving an SUV that gave him the tournament when he hit a high median at Rolling Hills Estates, on the outskirts of Los Angeles. The SUV crossed two approaching lanes and uprooted a tree on a downhill stretch that, according to police, is known for its wrecks..
The athlete is in Florida recovering from several surgeries. Woods has never spent an entire year without playing, dating back to his first PGA Tour event when he was 16 in high school.
Rory McIlroy, a four-time senior golf champion who lives near Woods, said he visited him on March 21.
“I spent a couple of hours with him, which was nice. It was good to see that, ”McIlroy said on Tuesday from the Masters. “It was good to see him with dignified spirits. When you hear about these things and look at the car and see the accident, you think it will be six months in a hospital bed. But I was really doing better than that. ”
In the weeks following the accident, the sheriff called it “purely an accident.” and said there was no evidence of deterioration.
Detectives searched the Genesis GV80 2021 SUV data logger, known as the black box. The investigators did not request a search warrant, however, for Woods blood samples, which could be examined for drugs and alcohol.
In 2017, Woods enrolled in a clinic for help dealing with prescription drugs after a DUI load in Florida, where he currently lives.
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Associated Press golf writer Doug Ferguson contributed from Augusta, Georgia.