May he have been asleep at wheel throughout crash?
The out there proof from the current automotive crash involving Tiger Woods signifies that the famed golfer was not listening to the street and drifted off of it earlier than crashing his automotive, three forensic automotive accident consultants informed USA TODAY Sports activities.
The identical consultants additionally say the proof doesn’t point out he misplaced management of his car due to extreme pace on a curved downhill street that’s identified for rushing automobiles.
They arrived at this concept based mostly on a number of elements, particularly the best way Woods’ car appeared to maintain going straight forward as an alternative of staying on the street because it curved proper.
Woods, 45, was touring north close to Los Angeles when his sports activities utility car left its lane, went throughout the median into the southbound lanes, went off the street, hit a tree, rolled over and sustained main frontal injury. Woods additionally broke a number of bones in his decrease proper leg, which signifies he was making use of the brake on the time of impression, based on the consultants. In addition they stated the proof signifies Woods utilized the brake late into the collision sequence.
“To me, this is sort of a basic case of falling asleep behind the wheel, as a result of the street curves and his car goes straight,” stated Jonathan Cherney, a marketing consultant who gives automotive accident evaluation as an professional witness in courtroom instances. Cherney, a former police detective, examined the Woods’ crash web site in particular person for the reason that accident on Tuesday.
“It’s a drift off the street, nearly like he was both unconscious, affected a medical episode or fell asleep and didn’t get up till he was off the street and that’s the place the brake utility got here in,” Cherney stated.
There have been no skid marks on the street to point braking, based on Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Woods’ car did have anti-lock brakes. So even when he was to slam on the brakes previous to hitting the curb, “you wouldn’t essentially see tire marks,” stated Felix Lee, an accident reconstruction professional who’s a part of the Skilled Institute, a community that gives professional witnesses in litigation.
Lee stated a key clue is how the car didn’t change route getting into the curve and as an alternative went immediately into the median.
“My feeling is that pace wasn’t that a lot of a problem,” Lee stated. “It was just a few type of inattention that prompted the curb strike.”
After leaving his lane and putting the median, Woods’ car went about 400 toes earlier than stopping. Cherney stated he did not see proof of “any steering enter” that will point out Woods tried to keep away from the emergency.
This means a “very delayed response” Woods to the scenario, stated Rami Cannabis, principal on the Nationwide Biomechanics Institute, which analyzes the reason for accidents. “It was suggesting he wasn’t paying consideration in any respect.”
Cannabis stated he suspects the injury to the car and Woods would have been a lot larger if he had been touring at an extreme pace. The pace restrict on that street is 45 mph.
“You possibly can stroll away with a damaged leg from 45 to 50 mph,” Cannabis stated. “In the event you’re hitting 60, 65 and also you’re hitting a stationary object, your chance of demise will increase exponentially.”
If he was going 80 mph, “he wouldn’t be having an open fracture on this leg,” Cannabis stated. “He’d be lifeless.”
Villanueva, the Los Angeles County sheriff, stated he didn’t know the car’s pace but however stated it may have been an element, in addition to inattentiveness. The accident was critical sufficient that it may finish Woods’ golf profession. Woods needed to be extricated from the car and taken to the hospital for surgical procedure.
“This stretch of street is difficult, and when you’re not paying consideration, you’ll be able to see what occurs,” Villanueva stated Wednesday.
Villanueva stated then that the crash was “purely an accident” and that there was no proof of impairment or remedy concerned. He additionally stated Woods was “lucid” on the time a sheriff’s deputy arrived on the scene Tuesday. However that doesn’t imply he won’t have been alert when he left his lane and saved going till he crashed.
The consultants discovered it puzzling that Villanueva had decided it to be an accident already with out having examined the car’s “black field” laptop, which may reveal his steering, braking or acceleration actions previous to impression. Villanueva stated Wednesday that data had not been pulled but.
Relating to an examination of Woods’ blood to see if he was medicated, Villanueva stated Wednesday the hospital may need that data.
“We’ll assume that in the middle of the therapy they draw blood they usually have to do this clearly as a result of he has to enter surgical procedure and all that,” he stated. “However that’s going to require a search warrant from our half to enter these particulars.”
USA TODAY Sports activities contacted the sheriff’s division Saturday to ask if Woods’ black field or blood was examined. The sheriff’s division responded with an announcement:
“The visitors collision investigation is ongoing, and visitors investigators haven’t made any conclusions as to the reason for the collision.”
Woods introduced in January that he not too long ago had undergone the newest of a number of surgical procedures on his again. In 2017, police discovered him asleep on the wheel in Florida. A toxicology report said he had Vicodin, Dilaudid, Xanax, Ambien and THC in his system then, when he was arrested on suspicions of drunk driving. Ambien is used to deal with sleep issues and has been utilized Woods beforehand.
“There’s no actual accident until it’s a real medical emergency,” Cherney stated. “There’s at all times some stage of negligence, whether or not it’s easy negligence like wanting down at your cellphone or altering the radio station that begins the entire collision sequence. … So when the sheriff is saying that is simply an accident, I don’t understand how on this planet you’ll be able to state that so early within the recreation with out finishing an in-depth thorough investigation and reconstruction evaluation.”
Villanueva’s declaration that this was an accident was a “preliminary” evaluation, Sheriff’s Deputy Graciela Medrano stated Saturday.
Cherney famous the load of that SUV, a Genesis SV80, may be round 6,000 kilos, rather more than a regular passenger automotive of about 3,500 kilos. Such heavy weight may assist clarify the injury completed within the crash, versus having it stem from extreme rushing, he stated. He questions whether or not the car truly rolled over “a number of instances,” because the sheriff beforehand indicated.
“I contemplate a rollover one full revolution, not simply falling onto the facet,” Cherney stated. “I don’t assume that car skilled as many revolutions or full rolls as they’re portraying.”
He additionally famous there are tire marks on the median, however “you don’t see any tire marks once more till he truly goes off the street,” Cherney stated. “And when he goes off the street, his left-side tires and right-side tires each struck it and you may see he simply went proper over the curb. To me, that’s additionally indicative of him not making use of the brakes, and he went forward and continued off the facet the street till he hit the comb. In all probability sooner or later when he hit the curb, he regained consciousness and determined to use the brakes.”
Woods’ Twitter account Friday stated that he was recovering from surgical procedure and “in good spirits.”
“We is not going to have any additional updates presently,” the assertion on his Twitter account stated. “Thanks in your continued privateness.”
Comply with reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com
