Tiger Woods was driving over 80 mph in a 45 mph zone before crash, officials say

Tiger Woods
(Image credit: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Officials have disclosed the cause of the serious car accident that sent legendary golfer Tiger Woods to the hospital in February.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva during a news conference Wednesday said the "primary causal factor" of the solo car crash that Woods was involved in was "driving at a speed unsafe for the road conditions and the inability to negotiate the curve of the roadway."

Woods had been driving between 84 and 87 miles per hour in a zone where the speed limit was 45 miles per hour, officials said, per The New York Times. When he struck a tree, Woods was driving about 75 miles per hour, they said. He applied pressure to the accelerator pedal during the collision and there was "no evidence of braking," so it's "speculated and believed that Tiger Woods inadvertently hit the accelerator instead of the brake pedal," Capt. Jim Powers said.

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The officials reiterated, though, that there were "no signs of impairment," and no citations were issued.

Woods' car reportedly rolled over several times during this solo accident in California, and he underwent surgeries for "significant orthopedic injuries," Harbor-UCLA Medical Center's Dr. Anish Mahajan previously said. But Villanueva said in February that Woods "was not drunk" during the accident and noted that there have been "quite a few accidents over the years" on the road where the crash occurred.

Woods in a new statement Wednesday said he is continuing to "focus on my recovery and family," and he thanked "everyone for the overwhelming support and encouragement I've received throughout this difficult time."

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan is a staff writer at The Week. A graduate of Hofstra University with a degree in journalism, he also writes about horror films for Bloody Disgusting and has previously contributed to The Cheat Sheet, Heavy, WhatCulture, and more. He lives in New York City surrounded by Star Wars posters.