Investigators Will Not Pursue Charges Against Tiger Woods After Tragic Car Crash: ‘An Accident Is Not A Crime’

Investigators have decided not to press charges against Tiger Woods in his rollover car crash incident, saying it was an accident.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva officials will not be pursuing charges against the 45-year-old golf icon. “We don’t contemplate any charges whatsoever in this crash,” Villanueva said in a Facebook Live chat. “This remains an accident. An accident is not a crime. They do happen, unfortunately.”

The incident happened on Tuesday a little after 7 a.m. when Woods was driving in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The golfer drove his SUV across a median and veered through two lanes before hitting a curb and then a tree, CNN reports. The car ended up on its side. According to CNN, Woods was “awake, responsive, and recovering” from a major surgery in the hospital.

Woods sustained leg injuries but remained conscious. Woods was taken to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where he underwent surgery on his lower right leg and ankle. The wreck fractured Wood’s legs, and medical officials had to break the bone into more than two parts in order to expose it to open air, which can run the risk of infection, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anish Mahajan said in the statement.

The golfer had to have a rod inserted into his tibia to stabilize it and the fibula bones. His foot and ankle bones had to be stabilized with screws and pins to take away some of the pressure. “His right leg was basically crushed,” Golf Digest’s Daniel Rapaport told CNN on Wednesday.

Villanueva said Woods surviving the tragic crash was “nothing short of a miracle,” adding that Woods wearing his seatbelt more than likely saved his life. “We have seen accidents with far less obvious (damage) that are fatalities.”