LA sheriffs execute search warrant on Tiger Woods's car after crash

The Los Angeles county sheriff’s department has executed a search warrant on Tiger Woods’s car after the golfer was involved in a serious crash last week.

The department said looking at the car’s “black box” was a routine procedure that could yield data such as speed and braking activity, and did not indicate the golfer was at fault. Last week the sheriff’s department described the crash as “purely an accident”.

“We’re trying to determine if a crime was committed,” sheriff’s deputy John Schloegl told USA Today Sports on Tuesday. “If somebody is involved in a traffic collision, we’ve got to reconstruct the traffic collision, if there was any reckless driving, if somebody was on their cell phone or something like that. We determine if there was a crime. If there was no crime, we close out the case, and it was a regular traffic collision.”

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The sheriff’s department said last week it does not believe drugs or alcohol was a factor in the crash. Schloegl said there is “no probable cause” to seek a warrant to test Woods’s blood.

In May 2017, Woods was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Florida after he was discovered passed out in his car. He later pleaded guilty to reckless driving over the incident, and said his condition was caused by prescribed medications. However, Schloegl said that first responders reported Woods was alert after last week’s crash. “We can’t just assume that somebody’s history makes them guilty,” Schloegl said.

Woods was left with multiple fractures of his legs after last week’s accident and faces months of rehabilitation. “I’ve been doing this for a while. I’ve seen fatal traffic collisions,” said Carlos Gonzalez, the first LA county deputy to respond after Woods’ car went off the road. “It was very fortunate that Mr Woods was able to come out of this alive.”