[imagesource: AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu]

When news first broke that Tiger Woods had been pried from the wreckage of his vehicle on Tuesday morning, many feared the worst.

Those fears were warranted, with Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva saying the sporting superstar was “lucky to be alive”.

You can see pictures and videos from the crash site here.

Of course, another line of thought when the crash news broke was whether or not Tiger was of sober mind, with his 2009 crash and 2017 arrest well documented.

Anybody who’s watched the recent documentary, Tiger, can recall the footage of an incoherent Tiger failing a sobriety test, with the golfer confirming later in 2017 that he had completed an out-of-state intensive programme to tackle an unspecified issue.

It is common knowledge that Tiger recently underwent his fifth back surgery, which led to questions around how many painkillers he may currently be using.

With regards to the latest accident, at present, Tiger is very much in the clear, reports The Independent:

Woods will not face any charges over his devastating car crash after police said the golfer was not on any drugs or alcohol when his SUV careered off a California road.

Authorities say that Woods, who is recovering from surgery to his badly injured legs, was not under the influence of any substance, despite not performing blood or alcohol tests on him after the accident.

“There was no evidence of any impairment whatsoever,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva on Facebook on Wednesday.

“He was lucid, no odour of alcohol, no evidence of any medication, narcotics or anything like that. That was not a concern so no field sobriety test and no drug expert needed to respond. This is what it is, an accident.”

The stretch of road where Tiger crashed is known to be dangerous, “as drivers often accelerated prematurely despite going downhill”.

From January of last year to Tiger’s crash, there have been a total of 13 accidents.

Data from the black box of the SUV he was driving, a $50,000 Genesis GV80, has not yet been recovered, and it’s hoped that it’ll contain information about the speed at which Tiger was driving at the time.

When asked whether or not Tiger may face a charge of reckless driving, Villanueva was also clear:

“No. A reckless driving charge has a lot of elements to it. This was purely an accident,” he said.

And he added: “We don’t contemplate any charges whatsoever in this crash. This remains an accident. An accident is not a crime. They do happen, unfortunately.”

Investigators are likely to look into Tiger’s cellphone records, to see if he was using the device at the time of the accident, but they will need a search warrant to do so.

Naturally, The Daily Mail is now camped outside of the hospital where Tiger is recovering, the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in West Carson, Los Angeles County.

Paparazzi have been snapping pictures of his girlfriend, Erica Herman, and caddie, Joe LaCava, visiting him yesterday.

You can see those here.

As for whether or not the 15-time major champion will ever return to the course, this may well spell the end of top-level competition for the 45-year-old.

Then again, he has been written off before, and having won the 2019 Masters at Augusta, you do so at your own peril.

[source:independent]