Detectives find cause of Tiger Woods crash but fail to disclose citing privacy concerns

LOS ANGELES (AP) The Los Angeles County Sheriff said detectives determined what caused Tiger Woods to crash with his SUV last month in Southern California, but would not release details on Wednesday, citing unspecified privacy concerns for the golf star.

Woods sustained serious injuries in the Feb.23 crash when he hit a raised median around 7 a.m. at Rolling Hills Estates, just outside Los Angeles. The Genesis SUV he was driving crossed two oncoming lanes and uprooted a tree on adescentthat the police said is known towrecks. Woods is recovering from several surgeries in Florida.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva was criticized for his comments on the crash, calling it purely an accident and saying there was no evidence of impairment. Woods told MPs he didn’t know how the crash happened and did not remember driving. He was unconscious when a witness first approached the mutilated SUV. But a sheriff’s deputy said the athlete later appeared in shock, but was aware and able to answer basic questions.

Investigators have not requested a search warrant for Woods’ blood samples, which may be subject to drug and alcohol testing. In 2017, Woods visited a clinic for help with prescription medication after a DUI charge in his home state of Florida.

The detectives, however, obtained aSearch warrantfor the 2021 Genesis GV80 SUV data logger, known as the black box. Villanueva did not say Wednesday what data was found in the black box.

You can see footage of the crash scene in the video below:

A cause has been determined, the investigation is complete, Villanueva said during a live social media event Wednesday in response to a question posed by The Associated Press.

But Villanueva claimed investigators needed permission from Woods, who had previously named his yacht Privacy, to release information about the crash.

We contacted Tiger Woods and his staff, ”Villanueva said. “There are confidentiality issues when disclosing information about the investigation, so we’ll ask them if they are waiving confidentiality and then we can publish a full publication on all information about the accident.

Excel Sports Agent Woods Mark Steinberg did not immediately respond to an email.

We have everything in the black box, we have everything, said Villanueva. It is completed, signed, sealed and delivered. However, we cannot release it without permission from the people involved in the collision.

Greg Risling, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County district attorney, said in an email Wednesday that no complaints against Woods had been filed through their office regarding the accident.

Villanueva’s statement on privacy issues did not make sense to Joseph Giacalone, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and retired New York Police Department sergeant, who criticized the sheriff’s response to the Woods incident from the start.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a department ask for such permission, he said. What if his lawyers say no, you can’t send him now. And then where does that leave us?

Giacalone said it was unlikely MPs would have sought permission from not famous victims in similar crashes to release information. If the sheriff’s reluctance stemmed from a potential medical episode while driving, Giacalone said authorities could simply say it was a medical emergency without giving further details.

I don’t think they would have asked a member of our family if they could get away with this, he said.

Woods is from the Los Angeles area and was back home to host his PGA tournament, the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club, which ended two days before the crash. He was driving an SUV loaned to him by the tournament.

Woods never went a full year without playing, dating back to his first PGA Tour event when he was 16 in high school.