Police in California executed a search warrant Tuesday to obtain data from the “black box” in the SUV involved in Tiger Woods’ latest car crash.
“We’re trying to determine if a crime was committed,” Sheriff’s Deputy John Schloegl told USA TODAY Sports. “If somebody is involved in a traffic collision, we’ve got to reconstruct the traffic collision, if there was any reckless driving, if somebody was on their cellphone or something like that. We determine if there was a crime. If there was no crime, we close out the case, and it was a regular traffic collision.”
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has already said his department would not file charges against Woods in the Feb. 23 single-car rollover accident, in which the pro golfer was seriously injured. Villanueva said the department is considering it an accident, which could lead to a misdemeanor at most.
“He was not drunk,” Villanueva said, one day after the crash. “We can throw that one out.”
Schloegl downplayed the warrant as a routine part of their probe, casting it as due diligence. He also said there was no probable cause to get a warrant to obtain a blood sample from Woods.
On Sunday, Woods made his first public statement since the crash that has put his athletic future in jeopardy. He saw several of his fellow golfers wearing his signature red and black gear during the WGC-Workday Championship in Bradenton, Florida.
Woods has always worn red and black gear on the final day of tournaments. On Sunday, Rory Mcllroy, Justin Thomas and Jason Day, among others, were seen wearing red and black in honor of Woods.
In a statement on Twitter, Woods said he was moved by the tributes from golfers competing in the tournament.
Woods was transferred from Harbor-UCLA Medical Center last week to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for “continuing orthopedic care and recovery,” hospital officials said.
A Friday night post on Woods’ Twitter account said he “received follow-up procedures on his injuries this morning. The procedures were successful, and he is now recovering and in good spirits.”
Woods had shattered the tibia and fibula of his lower right leg in multiple locations. Those injuries were stabilized with a rod in the tibia during a long surgery. Additional injuries to the bones in the foot and ankle required screws and pins.
Woods had been driving a 2021 Genesis SUV on a downhill stretch of road known for wrecks when he struck a raised median in a coastal Los Angeles suburb, crossed into oncoming lanes and flipped several times.
The crash was the latest setback for Woods, who has won 15 major championships and a record-tying 82 victories on the PGA Tour. He is among the world’s most recognizable sports figures, and at 45, even with a reduced schedule from nine previous surgeries, remains golf’s biggest draw.
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