WATCH LIVE: LA sheriff gives update on Tiger Woods’ crash
By STEFANIE DAZIO
LOS ANGELES — The sheriff for Los Angeles County plans to announce Wednesday what caused golf icon Tiger Woods to crash an SUV in Southern California earlier this year. The athlete was seriously injured in the wreck.
Sheriff Alex Villanueva had previously said detectives had determined the cause of the crash, but he would not release it, citing privacy concerns and a purported need for Woods’ permission to divulge information.
The sheriff “will discuss the findings of the recent traffic collision involving Mr. Tiger Woods, to include the causal factors and collision report” during a news conference Wednesday morning in Los Angeles, the sheriff’s department said in a statement.
It was not immediately clear Tuesday whether Woods — who previously named his yacht “Privacy” — had any involvement in the expected announcement.
Woods, who is from the Los Angeles area, had been back home to host his PGA tournament, the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, when the crash happened on Feb. 23.
Photos: Tiger Woods seriously injured in single-vehicle crash A crane is used to lift a vehicle following a rollover accident involving golfer Tiger Woods, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in the Rancho Palos Verdes suburb of Los Angeles. Woods suffered leg injuries in the one-car accident and was undergoing surgery, authorities and his manager said. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Photos: Tiger Woods seriously injured in single-vehicle crash In this aerial image take from video provided by KABC-TV video, a vehicle rest on its side after a rollover accident involving golfer Tiger Woods along a road in the Rancho Palos Verdes suburb of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Woods had to be extricated from the vehicle with the "jaws of life" tools, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement. Woods was taken to the hospital with unspecified injuries. The vehicle sustained major damage, the sheriff's department said. (KABC-TV via AP)
Photos: Tiger Woods seriously injured in single-vehicle crash A law enforcement officer looks over a damaged vehicle following a rollover accident involving golfer Tiger Woods, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in the Rancho Palos Verdes suburb of Los Angeles. Woods suffered leg injuries in the one-car accident and was undergoing surgery, authorities and his manager said. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Photos: Tiger Woods seriously injured in single-vehicle crash A law enforcement officer looks over a damaged vehicle following a rollover accident involving golfer Tiger Woods, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in the Rancho Palos Verdes suburb of Los Angeles. Woods suffered leg injuries in the one-car accident and was undergoing surgery, authorities and his manager said. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Photos: Tiger Woods seriously injured in single-vehicle crash A vehicle rests on its side after a rollover accident involving golfer Tiger Woods along a road in the Rancho Palos Verdes suburb of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Woods suffered leg injuries in the one-car accident and was undergoing surgery, authorities and his manager said. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Photos: Tiger Woods seriously injured in single-vehicle crash A crane is used to lift a vehicle following a rollover accident involving golfer Tiger Woods, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles. Woods suffered leg injuries in the one-car accident and was undergoing surgery, authorities and his manager said. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Photos: Tiger Woods seriously injured in single-vehicle crash A vehicle rests on its side after a rollover accident involving golfer Tiger Woods along a road in the Rancho Palos Verdes suburb of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Woods suffered leg injuries in the one-car accident and was undergoing surgery, authorities and his manager said. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Photos: Tiger Woods seriously injured in single-vehicle crash A vehicle rests on its side after a rollover accident involving golfer Tiger Woods along a road in the Rancho Palos Verdes suburb of Los Angeles on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Woods suffered leg injuries in the one-car accident and was undergoing surgery, authorities and his manager said. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
Photos: Tiger Woods seriously injured in single-vehicle crash Los Angeles County Sheriff's Deputy Carlos Gonzalez speaks Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, during a news conference at the Lomita sheriff's station in Lomita, Calif., about the Tiger Woods crash. Gonzalez said the road is a trouble spot for traffic accidents and speed, he's seen fatal collisions there. He said Woods is lucky to be alive. (AP Photo/Stefanie Dazio)
Photos: Tiger Woods seriously injured in single-vehicle crash A vehicle rests on its side after a rollover accident involving golfer Tiger Woods Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles. Woods suffered leg injuries in the one-car accident and was undergoing surgery, authorities and his manager said. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Photos: Tiger Woods seriously injured in single-vehicle crash A worker moves debris after a rollover accident involving golfer Tiger Woods Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles. Woods suffered leg injuries in the one-car accident and was undergoing surgery, authorities and his manager said. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Photos: Tiger Woods seriously injured in single-vehicle crash A vehicle rests on its side after a rollover accident involving golfer Tiger Woods Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in the Rancho Palos Verdes suburb of Los Angeles. Woods suffered leg injuries in the one-car accident and was undergoing surgery, authorities and his manager said. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
He was driving an SUV loaned to him by the tournament when he struck a raised median in Rolling Hills Estates, just outside Los Angeles. The SUV crossed through two oncoming lanes and uprooted a tree on a downhill stretch that police said is known for wrecks.
The athlete is in Florida recovering from multiple surgeries. Woods has never gone an entire year without playing, dating back to his first PGA Tour event as a 16-year-old in high school.
Rory McIlroy, a four-time major golf champion who lives near Woods, said he visited him on March 21.
“Spent a couple hours with him, which was nice. It was good to see him,” McIlroy said from the Masters on Tuesday. “It was good to see him in decent spirits. When you hear of these things and you look at the car and you see the crash, you think he’s going to be in a hospital bed for six months. But he was actually doing better than that.”
Villanueva faced criticism for weeks for his comments about the crash, including calling it “purely an accident” and saying there was no evidence of impairment. Documents show that Woods told deputies he did not know how the crash occurred and didn’t remember driving.
Detectives searched the data recorder of the 2021 Genesis GV80 SUV, known as a black box. Investigators did not seek a search warrant, however, for Woods’ blood samples, which could be screened for drugs and alcohol.
In 2017, Woods checked himself into a clinic for help in dealing with prescription drug medication after a DUI charge in his home state of Florida.
Associated Press Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contributed from Augusta, Georgia.