Tiger Woods’ ex, Rachel Uchitel, is “shaken up” after the golf legend was involved in a single-car crash on Tuesday morning. As the athlete, 45, remains hospitalized with serious injuries, Uchitel, whose affair with Woods made headlines in 2009, broke her silence on the ordeal, telling the New York Post that she is worried after Woods suffered injuries to his legs.
Speaking to the outlet just hours after news broke that Woods had been rushed to an L.A.-area hospital, Uchitel said “hearing the news has shaken me up.” Woods sustained serious injuries to both of his legs in the crash, and Uchitel said hearing his agent, Mark Steinberg, “say that he’s in surgery for his legs is something that really worries me and when you hear a comment like that you know it’s true.” Uchitel noted that as a golfer, “his legs are essential to his sport and to him being who he is.” She added that Woods, who underwent his fifth back surgery just weeks before the crash, “didn’t need any more injuries.”
Videos by PopCulture.com
“I’m really hoping he walks out of there OK. Knowing Tiger, this is the last thing he wants, the entire world watching him this way. On the golf course, yes, but not like this,” Uchitel added in a separate statement to E! News. “The most important thing is to make sure he’s OK. Thank God it’s a non-life threatening injury… He’s one of the greatest athletes in the world and we’ve been seeing him in one of the greatest sports comebacks in history. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens.”
Woods remains hospitalized at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center after undergoing emergency surgery for injuries he suffered in the crash, which occurred at around 7 a.m. PT in the Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes area of California. Woods reportedly crossed a median while driving and veered across two lanes before hitting curb and tree, which caused his vehicle to roll over several times before landing on its side. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the athlete “was extricated from the wreck with the ‘jaws of life’ by Los Angeles County firefighters and paramedics, then transported to a local hospital by ambulance for his injuries.” Nobody else was involved in the crash.
According to Woods’ manager, the golfer suffered “multiple leg injuries” that required surgery. He underwent extensive emergency surgery upon arriving to the hospital and had a rod, screws and pins inserted to stabilize his leg. He is said to be “awake, responsive and recovering.”
