Health February 24, 2021
Doctor Reveals Severity of Tiger Woods’ Injuries
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A medical professional confirms Tiger Woods suffered severe injuries following a single-vehicle crash Tuesday morning in Los Angeles.
In a statement posted to Woods' Twitter account Tuesday night, Dr. Anish Mahajan, Chief Medical Officer and Interim CEO at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said Woods underwent emergency surgery on his lower right leg and ankle.
Dr. Mahajan revealed the leg fractures were "comminuted," meaning the bone was broken into more than two parts, and "open," meaning the broken bone was exposed to open air, creating risk of an infection.
“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,” Dr. Mahajan continued.
The statement adds that Woods is “currently awake, responsive, and recovering in his hospital room.”
Per a statement from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Tuesday morning, Woods was involved in a rollover car crash on the border of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes.
According to Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, Woods' SUV crossed a median and veered across two lanes of road before hitting a curb, hitting a tree, and landing on its side in the brush.
Villanueva also commented that it was "nothing short of a miracle" that Woods survived.
"We have seen accidents with far less obvious (damage) that are fatalities," Villanueva told CNN's Chris Cuomo on Tuesday.
Authorities believe Woods was traveling at a high speed before the crash. Villanueva adds that there were no skid marks or other indications of braking.
Villanueva also said deputies responding to Woods saw no evidence of impairment. They also did not ask hospital officials to take a blood draw.
When Los Angeles County Fire officials arrived at the scene, Chief Daryl Osby told CNN's John Berman that they broke the windshield with an ax and used a pry bar to move the seats and metal from around Woods' legs. Firefighters then put Woods in a neck collar, attached leg splints, and used a backboard to get him through the giant hole in the windshield to the ambulance.
Law enforcement sources told TMZ on Tuesday that Woods was alert enough to ask first responders to have his manager pick up his belongings. The outlet adds that officials did not find anything illicit inside his vehicle.
