When Tiger Woods was involved in a single-car rollover crash, there were immediate questions about what caused the accident. Some outlets wrote that the authorities were “too quick” to rule this incident an accident and brought up past drug-related issues from Woods’ past. The outlets sparked rumors of a cover-up, but the authorities had reasons approaching the crash how they did.
According to Sheriff Alex Villanueva of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, the deputy that first arrived at the scene of the incident assessed Woods’ condition. He determined that the professional golfer did not appear to be impaired in any way. Villanueva explained that he didn’t have probable cause to order a blood test to determine if there were any drugs or other substances in Woods’ system.
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“The deputy at the scene assessed the condition of Tiger Woods and there was no evidence of any impairment whatsoever,” Villanueva said. “He was lucid, no odor of alcohol, no evidence of any medication, narcotics or anything like that would bring that into question. So that was not a concern at the time. So therefore, obviously no field sobriety test and no DRE.”
A DRE is “a law enforcement officer who is trained to identify clues of impairment and determine whether the driver should have his blood examined for medications or other drugs.” These officers complete a 12-step process and try to determine whether it is necessary for authorities to examine the blood of the driver.
“When I arrived on scene, Mr. Woods was seated in the driver’s seat,” Deputy Carlos Gonzalez explained during a press conference on Feb. 23. “I made contact with him and I made sure he was able to speak to me. At that time, he seemed like he was still calm and lucid. I made the determination I would be safer to wait for LA County Fire to help remove him instead of try to remove him myself.”
While debates rage about what caused the rollover crash, Woods continues to recover at home. He has provided a few updates about the process, revealing that he is back at home after multiple procedures at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He thanked all of the medical professionals that worked on him and got him back on the road to full health. He also sent out a message of gratitude to all of the people that had wished for his speedy recovery.
