Woods has undergone surgery on “significant orthopaedic injuries”
Golfing great Tiger Woods is “awake and responsive” after undergoing surgery on his legs following a car crash in Los Angeles on Tuesday.
A statement from the LA County Sheriff’s department confirmed Woods had been involved in a crash while driving on his own near Rancho Palos Verdes. Firefighters had to use jaws of life equipment to help remove him from the car, which had flipped over.
The 45-year-old was taken straight to hospital after being freed from his vehicle. A statement from Anish Mahajan, chief medical officer of the Harbor UCLA Medical Centre where Woods is being treated, said he had suffered “significant orthopaedic injuries”, and had subsequently undergone surgery on “open fractures affecting the tibia and fibula bones” in his right leg as well as injuries to his foot and ankle.
The update from Mahajan formed part of a wider statement shared on Woods’ social channels on Wednesday morning. This also made clear that the 15-time major winner was “awake and responsive” as he recovered from the surgery.
— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) February 24, 2021
A deputy from the LA Sheriff’s Department who was first on the scene confirmed he had been wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash but had been lucky to escape with his life.
“It’s very fortunate that Mr Woods was able to come out of this alive,” said Carlos Gonzalez.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva added that Woods’ car hit a kerb and a tree and rolled over several times. While he said there were suggestions the vehicle may have been “going at a relatively greater speed than normal”, accidents in this area were not rare.
“Because it [the road] is downhill, it slopes and curves, that area has a high frequency of accidents. It is not uncommon.”
