Twist on Tiger Woods accident as forensic experts suggest a new theory

Tiger Woods appeared to be inattentive in the moments leading up to his devastating accident, and may have fallen asleep behind the wheel of the luxurious SUV he was driving, according to a report citing forensic experts in car accidents.

The 45-year-old links legend was driving just a 2021 Genesis GV80 when he crossed the median on Hawthorne Boulevard in Rancho Palos Verdes, went off the road and hit a tree, causing the car to roll over.

Woods broke several bones in his lower right leg, indicating he was applying the brake at the time of impact, experts told USA Today, adding that evidence indicates he braked late in the crash sequence.

“For me, this is like a classic case of falling asleep behind the wheel, because the road curves and your vehicle is going straight,” Jonathan Cherney, a consultant who serves as an expert witness in court cases, told the news outlet.

The former police detective examined the crash site in person.

“It’s an off-road detour, almost like he was unconscious, suffering from a medical episode or fell asleep and didn’t wake up until he pulled off the road and that’s where the brake application came in,” Cherney told USA Today .

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has said that there were no skid marks to indicate braking, but the vehicle had antilock brakes, so even if Woods squeezes the brakes, “you wouldn’t necessarily see tire marks.” Felix Lee, an accident reconstruction expert, told the outlet.

Lee said a key clue is how the SUV didn’t change direction when entering the curve.

“My feeling is that speed wasn’t a big issue. It was just some kind of inattention that caused the sidewalk strike,” said Lee, who is part of the Institute of Experts, a network that provides expert witnesses in cases. judicial.

Cherney also said he saw no evidence of “any steering movement” that would show the golfer tried to avoid the accident.

Rami Hashish, director of the National Institute of Biomechanics, which investigates accidents, told USA Today that this suggests a “very late response.”

“I was suggesting that I was not paying attention at all,” the expert said, adding that he suspects the damage would have been much greater if Woods had traveled too fast.

The speed limit on that stretch is 45 mph (72 km / h).

“You can walk away with a broken leg 45 to 50 mph,” Hashish said. “If you hit 60, 65 (105 km / h) and hit a stationary object, your probability of death increases exponentially.”

If you were accelerating to 129 km / h (80 mph), “you would not have an open fracture in this leg, you would be dead,” he said.

The sheriff has said investigators did not yet know the speed of the vehicle, but said it could have been a factor, as well as inattention.

“This stretch of road is challenging, and if you are not paying attention, you can see what happens,” Villanueva said Wednesday, adding that the crash was “purely an accident” in a preliminary assessment.

There was no evidence of impairment or medication involved, he added.

However, experts were surprised that Villanueva had determined that it was an accident without having yet examined the SUV’s “black box” computer, which could reveal steering, braking or acceleration actions before impact.

“There is no real accident unless it is a true medical emergency,” Cherney said. “There is always some level of negligence, whether it’s simple negligence like looking at your phone or changing the radio station that initiates the entire collision sequence.

“So when the sheriff says this is just an accident, I don’t know how in the world you can say that so early in the game without completing a thorough and in-depth reconstruction investigation and analysis,” he added.

In 2017, police found Woods asleep at the wheel in Florida. A toxicology report said that he had Vicodin, Dilaudid, Xanax, Ambien, which is used to treat sleep problems, and THC in his system at the time.

Cherney also questioned whether the truck overturned “multiple times,” as Villanueva noted.

“I see a roll-over as a complete revolution, not just falling sideways,” Cherney said. “I don’t think that vehicle has experienced as many revolutions or full turns as it is portraying.”

In his first remarks after the accident, Woods said Sunday: “It’s hard to explain how moving it was today when I turned on the television and saw all the red jerseys,” referring to his teammates wearing his signature red and black jersey Sunday outfit. pants during the final round of the WCG-Workday Championship.

“To all the golfers and fans, you are really helping me through this difficult time.”