The sheriff overseeing the investigation into the Tiger Woods car accident says he will NOT be prosecuted for the incident – he calls it an “accident”.
Tiger Woods will not be prosecuted for crashing: says, Sheriff
Tiger Woods will avoid reckless driving fees and officials are treating his accident as an accident, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said on Wednesday.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva answered questions from the media on Wednesday – and when asked directly if Tiger would be exposed to a reckless driving fee, he said, “No.” “This is pure accident,” said Sheriff Villanueva. There is no evidence that the 45-year-old was under the influence of any substance while driving his vehicle off a cliff in Palos Verdes, California on Tuesday.
There’s a chance Woods may be in breach if investigators discover he was using his cell phone when he lost control – or was otherwise distracted behind the wheel – but it’s a big difference from one Crime charge.”We are not considering any changes in this crash,” added Villanueva.
“This remains an accident. An accident is not a crime.”
As we’ve reported earlier, Deputy Carlos Gonzalez – the first to respond to the crash scene – says Tiger seemed clear and sober in the moments after the accident.
Villanueva said there was no evidence that Woods was harmed by drugs or alcohol while first responders were on site.
Officials say they did not take a blood sample from Tiger to test for substances because there was no obvious sign of impairment.
Sheriff Villanueva also confirmed that investigators have still not retrieved a “black box” from the SUV that Tiger was driving – a device that can show investigators how fast the vehicle was driving at the time of the incident.
Tiger was arrested in Florida in 2017 for DUI after officials passed out at the wheel of his car. Woods later said his condition was an unintended result of taking prescription drugs. The golf legend was seriously injured in the crash on Tuesday morning.
“There are many elements to a reckless fare and this is pure accident,” said Villanueva. “There will be a cause for it and a vehicle code will be attached to the cause – for inattentive driving or whatever the case may be. “But that’s a violation, and reckless driving is more than a violation. This is a misdemeanor crime that has many elements to it and nothing like it.”
Villanueva said there was no data recorded from the Genesis SUV 2021 black box that could reveal how fast Woods was traveling at the time. The stated speed limit was 45 mph, he added.
Woods, 45, suffered “multiple leg injuries” after a collision with a single vehicle on the border between Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes around 7:12 am local time. Villanueva answered questions about the Woods wreck on Facebook and Instagram Live.
