US golf star Tiger Woods is in hospital after being cut free from car crash, say authorities in California.
The vehicle had rolled over in the accident and suffered major damage, said Los Angeles County Sheriff”s Department.
Woods was taken to hospital with multiple leg injuries to undergo surgery, authorities and his manager said. His condition isn’t yet clear.
A statement by the sheriff’s department said police had responded to a “single vehicle roll-over traffic collision” at around 7.12 in the morning, identifying a residential area near the coast south of LA airport.
“The driver and sole occupant was identified as PGA golfer Eldrick ‘Tiger’ Woods,” the statement said. He was “extricated from the wreck with the ‘jaws of life’ by firefighters and paramedics” before being taken to hospital by ambulance.
“Tiger Woods was in a single-car accident this morning in California where he suffered multiple leg injuries,” his manager, Mark Steinberg, said. He is currently in surgery and we thank you for your privacy and support.”
A helicopter over the scene of Woods’ accident showed a car on its side with the front end heavily damaged. Air bags appeared to be deployed. The wreckage appeared to be just off the side of a road on a hillside.
Woods was in Los Angeles over the weekend as the host of a golf tournament, where he presented the trophy. He was to spend Monday and Tuesday filming with Discovery-owned GOLFTV, with whom he has an endorsement contract.
This is the third time Woods has been involved in a car investigation. The most notorious was in 2009, when his SUV ran over a fire hydrant and hit a tree.
That event brought revelations that he had been cheating on his wife with multiple women, which led to lost major corporate sponsorship. Woods went to a rehabilitation clinic in Mississippi and did not return to golf for five months.
In May 2017, Florida police found him asleep behind the wheel of a car parked awkwardly on the side of the road. He was arrested on a charge of driving under the influence and said later he had an unexpected reaction to prescription medicine his back pain.
The golfer later pleaded guilty to reckless driving and checked into a clinic to get help with prescription medication and a sleep disorder.
