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While we still wait for more evidence from Tiger Woods’ recent single-car crash, based on the evidence that is already out there, many are starting to offer their opinions on what may have caused the accident.
Three forensic scientists recently spoke with USA Today and concluded that Woods was not paying attention to the road and drifted off of it before crashing his car. Based on their interpretation of the evidence, Woods did not lose control of the vehicle because of excessive speed on a curved downhill road.
There weren’t any skid marks on the road to indicate braking, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. It’s worth noting that Woods’ vehicle did have anti-lock brakes. This means that even if he was to slam on the brakes prior to hitting the curb, “you wouldn’t necessarily see tire marks,” according to Felix Lee, an accident reconstruction expert who is part of the Expert Institute.
The experts arrived at these conclusions based on several factors, but particularly the way Woods’ vehicle appeared to keep going straight ahead instead of staying on the road as it curved right. One of the forensic experts also suggested that Woods may have fallen asleep at the wheel prior to the crash.
“To me, this is like a classic case of falling asleep behind the wheel, because the road curves and his vehicle goes straight,” said Jonathan Cherney, a consultant who provides car accident analysis as an expert witness in court cases. Cherney examined the crash site in person.
“It’s a drift off the road, almost like he was either unconscious, suffering from a medical episode or fell asleep and didn’t wake up until he was off the road and that’s where the brake application came in.”
There weren’t any skid marks on the road to indicate braking, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. It’s worth noting that Woods’ vehicle did have anti-lock brakes. This means that even if he was to slam on the brakes prior to hitting the curb, “you wouldn’t necessarily see tire marks,” according to Felix Lee, an accident reconstruction expert who is part of the Expert Institute. Lee also made note that a major clue is how Woods’ vehicle didn’t change direction and instead went directly into the media.
With Woods breaking bones in his lower right leg, this indicates that he had applied the brake at the time of impact, according to the experts.
Woods suffered significant orthopedic injuries to his right lower extremity that were treated during emergency surgery. He suffered comminuted open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula bones were stabilized by inserting a rod into the tibia. Additional injuries to the bones of the foot and ankle were stabilized with a combination of screws and pins. Trauma to the muscle and soft-tissue of the leg required surgical release of the covering of the muscles to relieve pressure due to swelling, according to a statement shared by Woods’ team.
Woods was moved to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and received successful follow-up surgery, his team announced on Friday.