Feb 23, 2021

LA County Sheriff Press Conference on Tiger Woods Car Accident Transcript February 23

LA County Sheriff Press Conference on Tiger Woods Car Accident Transcript February 23
RevBlogTranscriptsLA County Sheriff Press Conference on Tiger Woods Car Accident Transcript February 23

The Los Angeles County Sheriff held a press conference to provide updates on Tiger Woods’ car crash on February 23, 2021. Read the transcript of the briefing here.

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Joe Mendoza: (00:00)
You’ll handle? You’ll handle? All right. He’s got it.

Speaker 1: (00:02)
He’s got it.

Joe Mendoza: (00:03)
Thank you, sir. Good afternoon. I’m Joe Mendoza, Captain of the Sheriff’s Information Bureau. Thank you for coming to this press conference to discuss a traffic collision, which occurred this morning involving Eldrick Tiger Woods. Joining Sheriff Villanueva is Lomita Station Captain James Powers and other members of the executive command staff. Also joining us here today is LA County Fire Chief, Daryl Osby. Now, I would like to introduce the Sheriff of Los Angeles County, Alex Villanueva.

Alex Villanueva: (00:41)
Thank you, Captain Mendoza. Today at 07:12 in the morning, Lomita Sheriff’s Station received a call of a solo vehicle collision in Hawthorne Boulevard, North of Palos Verdes Drive. We arrived on scene at 07:18 AM and discovered the solo vehicle collision and the sole occupant was again, Tiger Woods. And deputies at the time, they did not see any evidence of impairment, anything of concern. Obviously, the lifesaving measures that had to be taken for the occupant of the vehicle and Chief Osby will speak to that regard.

Alex Villanueva: (01:23)
And it was a solo vehicle. Unfortunately, during the course of the investigation of this, there was another traffic collision that happened with people being looky-loos, but thankfully, there was no injuries associated with that. The vehicle traveled several hundred feet from the center divider at the intersection and rested on the west side of the road, in the bush. Sustained major damage to the vehicle. You’ve seen all the images of that. And with that, our Lomita Sheriff’s Station will be conducting the traffic investigation and it’ll take them from days to several weeks to get the whole thing together. Once the investigation is completed, we will provide a detailed report. It’ll be available based on Public Record Act request and we will not discuss it any further after that point. But at this point, I want to introduce Chief Daryl Osby, LA County Fire Department.

Daryl Osby: (02:22)
Good afternoon. I’m Fire Chief Daryl Osby of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. At approximately 07:22 this morning, resources from Los Angeles County Fire Station 106, received a report of a solo vehicle accident at the intersection of Hawthorne Boulevard and Palos Verdes Drive North in Rolling Hills Estates. Upon arrival of the scene of the incident with sheriffs on scene, resources and personnel from the Los Angeles County Fire Department observed a single rollover vehicle incident with one person trapped. The person trapped was extricated by the Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel.

Daryl Osby: (03:07)
Earlier, it was stated that the jaws of life was utilized to extricate the person trapped. It was later determined by our personnel that a Halligan tool, which is used for prying, and an ax was also used to pry the person free from the vehicle. The person was packaged at the incident in stable condition with serious injuries. And because of the fact that they needed to be extricated, they were transported to Harbor-UCLA Hospital because of the extrication and Harbor Hospital is also a trauma center. As indicated earlier, there was also a second vehicle accident with no injuries. Thank you.

Alex Villanueva: (03:59)
Okay. And the vehicle involved is a 2021 Genesis. It’s a mid-sized SUV. [foreign language 00:04:06]. So let me switch now to a Q&A English or Spanish.

Speaker 2: (05:11)
Chief Osby, if we can start with you.

Speaker 3: (05:15)
Good afternoon, Sheriff, sorry. Could you explain a little bit more, you were talking about the impairment, that there was no evidence of impairment. Anything more specific about that? And you also may have mentioned that life-saving efforts were performed. Can you be more specific about that?

Alex Villanueva: (05:25)
Well, if the deputies arrive on scene and there’s a vehicle that’s rolled over, there’s someone inside the vehicle, they can’t remove them. Obviously, that’s-

Speaker 3: (05:33)
Okay. So were they unconscious or conscious?

Alex Villanueva: (05:34)
We’ll leave it at that. He was alive and he was conscious. And that’s the extent of that.

Speaker 3: (05:35)
What about the evidence of the impairment? You said there was no evidence of impairment.

Alex Villanueva: (05:46)
There was no evidence of impairment. So subsequent to that, we’re not going to make any… There was no effort to draw blood for example, at the hospital.

Speaker 3: (05:56)
Nothing was removed from the scene or found at the scene?

Alex Villanueva: (06:00)
No evidence of impairment at this point in time, but I’ll let Chief Osby…

Speaker 3: (06:05)
Chief Osby, was Tiger Woods conscious when you got there, did he say anything to the paramedics who arrived? And could you tell us a little bit more if we didn’t use the jaws of life, how exactly did the extrication process take place?

Daryl Osby: (06:17)
Okay. The information I got back from my personnel and the things that they do is they will do a scene assessment. It was brought to my attention that he was conscious. Now, exactly what was said is unknown, but he was conscious. Our personnel make an assessment to make a determination their level of consciousness, make sure that they’re breathing, control any serious bleeding and then control and address any serious injuries. It was brought to my attention that he had serious leg injuries and that was assessed at the incident. The jaws of life are used as part as a package to extricate people that are trapped in vehicles, but it was later determined and brought to the attention that the jaws of life were not used to extricate Tiger Woods. We used a Halligan tool, which is a tool used for prying. And we also use an ax to pry him from the vehicle.

Daryl Osby: (07:13)
He was taken from the vehicle with a collar and backboard for spinal precautions, he had the proper splints. Because of the nature of the incident being a solar vehicle rollover, and the fact that it required it next to location, that meant trauma center criteria. The nearest trauma center to the area’s Harbor-UCLA Hospital, where he was transported, [inaudible 00:07:36] serious but stable condition.

Speaker 3: (07:37)
Which leg?

Daryl Osby: (07:39)
That I do not know. It was my understanding that he had serious injuries to both legs.

Speaker 2: (07:45)
This was his decision to go to Harbor-UCLA, or you took him to the closest emergency room? Given his condition at the time, was that severe? That’s what you had to do?

Daryl Osby: (07:53)
Was the determination of where to be transported was made by the paramedics and the captain on scene? The reason that Tiger Woods was transported to Harbor…

Daryl Osby: (08:01)
… that Tiger Woods was transported to Harbor-UCLA Hospital, is because it’s a trauma center criteria. Because of the nature of the incident, it was a solo roller vehicle, and the damage to the vehicle, and then it also required him to be extricated. That’s one of the criteria that meets trauma center criteria. Therefore, he was transported to the nearest trauma center, which is Harbor-UCLA Hospital.

Speaker 4: (08:25)
Was he airlifted? Can you tell us if he had injuries anywhere other than his legs, and were any of those injuries critical?

Daryl Osby: (08:33)
He was not airlifted. There were no other life-endangering injuries, to my knowledge.

Speaker 5: (08:40)
Sheriff Villanueva, a question if you would. I know it’s a little early, the investigators haven’t done all their stuff on that. Any indication of the speed at the time that the vehicle lost control and went over the center divider? All the reporters here that talked to me were saying you’re going down that hill, you take your foot off the brakes, you’re at 50 plus before you know it. Any indication of how fast that vehicle may have been going at the time it flipped?

Sheriff Villanueva: (09:08)
Well, at the time it crossed the center divider to the point that it rested was several hundred feet away. So obviously that indicates they were going at a relatively, a greater speed than the normal. However, because it is downhill, it slopes and it also curves, that area has a high frequency of accidents. It’s not uncommon.

Speaker 5: (09:30)
Any skid marks or any indication that he tried to brake or stop?

Sheriff Villanueva: (09:32)
No skid marks, no braking. So apparently the first contact was with the center median. And from there, then across into the opposing lane of traffic, hit the curb, hit a tree and there were several rollovers during that process.

Speaker 5: (09:46)
They haven’t given you any kind of a preliminary indication in excess of 45, 50, 55 miles an hour?

Sheriff Villanueva: (09:53)
They’re going to have to figure that one out. That’s why the traffic investigators make the big bucks that they make.

Speaker 6: (09:57)
Sheriff, what can you tell us about his condition now? Are you still in touch with Mr. Woods’ team?

Sheriff Villanueva: (10:03)
We’ve reached out. We’ve been in touch with his manager and they do not want me to say anything on his condition right now.

Speaker 7: (10:08)
Did we hear that he’s out of surgery and perhaps been moved to his own room, sheriff?

Sheriff Villanueva: (10:12)
All we know that a serious condition as a result of the accident, and that’s about all they want to say.

Speaker 7: (10:17)
Do you know if weather is a factor in this accident, Sheriff Villanueva?

Sheriff Villanueva: (10:20)
Weather is not a factor.

Speaker 8: (10:22)
Sheriff, how long did it take to get him out of the car? How long was that process?

Sheriff Villanueva: (10:26)
Well, we arrived on scene at 7:18. They were notified within four minutes and …

Daryl Osby: (10:34)
We got the call from the Sheriff Department at approximately 7:22 this morning. Our resources arrived on scene at approximately 7:28. I don’t have the information right now in relation to how long it took to extricate him from the vehicle.

Speaker 8: (11:00)
Do you have any indication there were drugs or medications involved? [inaudible 00:11:01] in that way?

Daryl Osby: (11:00)
No.

Speaker 9: (11:00)
Who called it in? Did someone call 911, a bystander? And is there any indication he fell asleep at the wheel?

Sheriff Villanueva: (11:00)
We had a neighbor call 911. That’s how the call was received at the station.

Speaker 9: (11:05)
And you said no impairment. Is it possible he fell asleep at the wheel?

Sheriff Villanueva: (11:09)
No evidence of impairment this time. That’ll be subject to the investigation.

Speaker 9: (11:12)
When you say no evidence of impairment, what impairments are you looking for?

Sheriff Villanueva: (11:16)
Well, we’re looking at signs of under the influence of either a narcotics medication, alcohol, odor of alcohol, all these different things that would give you an idea in their behavior, but there was none present.

Speaker 9: (11:28)
And did anyone who showed up appear he could have fallen asleep, had a heart attack, something like that?

Sheriff Villanueva: (11:32)
Now we’re going beyond what we have at the time. The investigators will have to figure that one out.

Speaker 4: (11:37)
I understand some vehicles now have essentially a black box that reports their information about how fast the car is going, did airbags deploy, [inaudible 00:11:43], that sort of thing. Did this vehicle have that, and will you get information from that in the investigation?

Sheriff Villanueva: (11:47)
The investigators will be able to … If they have it, they’ll be able to have that and download it, and that will give us a good idea.

Speaker 10: (11:52)
Was any of Tiger’s team following the vehicle, or was it just him solo?

Sheriff Villanueva: (11:57)
Not that we’re aware of.

Speaker 11: (11:58)
Sheriff, you said that he was conscious, I believe. Was he able to communicate how much pain he was in, whether or not … Was he able to communicate at all?

Sheriff Villanueva: (12:07)
He was able to communicate and he was conscious. I’ll leave it at that.

Speaker 12: (12:10)
[foreign language 00:12:10].

Sheriff Villanueva: (12:10)
[foreign language 00:12:10].

Speaker 12: (12:10)
[foreign language 00:12:10].

Sheriff Villanueva: (12:10)
[foreign language 00:12:10].

Speaker 4: (12:10)
Sheriff, do you know how long he was in the car before 911 arrived. Did he stay at all how long he’d been waiting?

Sheriff Villanueva: (12:48)
Well, we got the call at 7:12, and that came from the neighbor. So we had to assume they made that call almost immediately, as soon as it happened, because the neighbors, they’re sitting right within 50 feet of the location.

Speaker 4: (13:01)
So, they saw the crash happen?

Sheriff Villanueva: (13:04)
If they didn’t see it, they heard it, because it literally happened right at their doorstep.

Speaker 13: (13:08)
This is a Courtesy car that he was driving, a Genesis Courtesy card, correct?

Sheriff Villanueva: (13:12)
That is correct.

Speaker 13: (13:13)
Is it possible that Mr. Woods was on the phone when this accident occurred, or is this one of the factors that we’re going to be considering?

Sheriff Villanueva: (13:19)
That’s something we’ll have to explore. The investigators will have to ascertain that, if it was distracted driving.

Speaker 14: (13:25)
Chief Osby, can you describe how the ax and special tool were used to extricate him from the vehicle? I mean, as far as the doors go, I mean, how were the tools used for this process?

Daryl Osby: (13:38)
As it pertains to the vehicle, as articulated earlier, it was a rollover accident. So Tiger Woods was trapped inside the vehicle. So our firefighters and our firefighter paramedics used the pry bar, they call it hell in a tube, and an ax to pry parts of the vehicle away from him, so they were able to safely extricate him from the vehicle.

Speaker 8: (14:03)
At what point did you realize it was Tiger Woods? Did he identify himself? Did they check his license? How did you know who it was?

Sheriff Villanueva: (14:11)
They recognized him and he identified himself as well.

Speaker 8: (14:13)
Sheriff, do we know if blood was drawn at the scene from Tiger?

Sheriff Villanueva: (14:17)
No, we don’t have that capability nor do we want it.

Speaker 15: (14:20)
Sheriff Villanueva, the accident crime scene has taken a long time. It’s been there now for several hours, just moving the car now. Is there a reason that so much time has been taken at this crime scene? Are there certain factors you’re looking at, are there certain pieces of evidence you’re hoping to find, or is it simply the fact that this is Tiger Woods and this is the way we’re going to handle it?

Sheriff Villanueva: (14:40)
Well, any serious accident of this nature is going to take time. It usually takes hours, and removing the vehicle is one of the last steps. They’ve done all their markers, took in all their measurements, gathered up all this stuff. And then three or four hours is pretty normal actually.

Speaker 15: (14:56)
The celebrity component is not playing a factor?

Sheriff Villanueva: (14:58)
I don’t think that will play a factor in it.

Speaker 16: (15:00)
Were the neighbors approaches, like checking on his wellbeing? Did they make it to the site and actually make contact with him?

Sheriff Villanueva: (15:09)
No, they did not. No, there’s a bluff. They’re sitting about 20 feet above the place where the vehicle came to a rest.

Speaker 17: (15:17)
Sheriff, can you talk about, do you know where he was coming from?

Speaker 4: (15:22)
Hey Sheriff, can you talk a little bit about if he was able to stand after he was taken out? Was he able to take a couple of steps? Can you talk a little bit about what that looked like for him?

Sheriff Villanueva: (15:28)
He was not able to get up, no. That was not an option.

Speaker 18: (15:31)
Did Tiger Woods ask you to contact anyone for him? Did he ask you to contact a specific member of his family or a specific member of his team that was here for the golf tournament at this point?

Speaker 19: (15:41)
[inaudible 00:15:41] at the hospital.

Sheriff Villanueva: (15:43)
At the hospital he did, but not at the scene.

Speaker 18: (15:46)
I’m sorry, sir, can you clarify?

Sheriff Villanueva: (15:48)
He did at the hospital, but not at the scene.

Speaker 18: (15:50)
He asked you to contact-

Sheriff Villanueva: (15:51)
Yes.

Speaker 18: (15:52)
… a member of his family?

Sheriff Villanueva: (15:53)
Who was it?

Speaker 19: (15:54)
A member of his team.

Sheriff Villanueva: (15:57)
Oh, a member of his team. Thank you.

Speaker 17: (15:57)
Do you know where he was coming from?

Speaker 20: (15:58)
Could you talk about conditions inside the car?

Sheriff Villanueva: (15:58)
Huh?

Speaker 20: (15:58)
Could you talk about the conditions inside the car? Was he tapped? Was he able to move at all?

Sheriff Villanueva: (16:03)
Well the-

Speaker 20: (16:03)
… describe the conditions inside the car? Was he trapped, was he able to move at all?

Sheriff Villanueva: (16:03)
Well, the interior, the cabin of the vehicle was more or less intact. The front end was totally destroyed, the bumpers, everything was destroyed, airbags deployed, all of that. However, thankfully, the interior was more or less intact which kind of gave him the cushion to survive what otherwise would have been a fatal crash.

Speaker 21: (16:29)
[foreign language 00:16:29]

Speaker 22: (16:36)
Was he wearing a seatbelt or did he give any indication of where he was coming from or heading to?

Sheriff Villanueva: (16:58)
Well, he was definitely, he was heading northbound on the Hawthorne.

Speaker 22: (17:09)
Was he wearing a seatbelt?

Sheriff Villanueva: (17:09)
Yes.

Sheriff Villanueva: (17:10)
[foreign language 00:17:10]

Speaker 23: (17:28)
Did he hit the Rolling Hills Estate sign that’s over there?

Sheriff Villanueva: (17:35)
How’s that?

Speaker 23: (17:41)
Did he hit the Rolling Hills Estate sign that’s right there?

Sheriff Villanueva: (17:42)
He actually struck the first one going northbound and that was on the center median. That was the first thing that he made contact with him.

Speaker 24: (17:50)
I know you said he was going northbound.

Female: (17:50)
Sir, could you repeat that?

Speaker 24: (17:52)
Do we know where he was coming from at the time?

Sheriff Villanueva: (17:56)
Not to my knowledge. No.

Speaker 25: (17:57)
Sheriff, there’s some reports that he was seen speeding earlier in the day. Have you heard those? Will you be conducting any other interviews following up on this?

Sheriff Villanueva: (18:02)
That’ll be up to the traffic investigators and the relevancy.

Speaker 25: (18:14)
Thank you.

Speaker 26: (18:14)
Three more questions.

Female: (18:14)
Sheriff, [crosstalk 00:18:14] high profile case.

Female: (18:14)
Would you say that speeding was a factor in this?

Sheriff Villanueva: (18:14)
Well, like every accident in that area when it’s downhill on a curve, the Vehicle Code 22-350 says unsafe speed for driving conditions. Typically in an accident when it’s a factor, that is one of those sections that is cited, and sometimes just because that’s the posted speed limit, if there’s a wet road, for example, that doesn’t mean your speed limit is fixed there. You actually have to slow down even lower than that for the conditions of the road, so downhill on a curve is something that, it’s a lesson for everyone. You got to be aware of this.

Female: (18:43)
So speed is a factor. And then if you could, can you just kind of paint the picture for us again because I know you’ve answered the question but for clarity, he’s coming down off of a hill. Speed, we think, is a factor. What’s the first thing he hits when he loses control and goes over the median. Can you walk us through the sequence of events there?

Sheriff Villanueva: (19:03)
From what I understand, the first thing was when he made contact with the center median would be the Welcome to Rolling Hills Estate sign.

Male: (19:10)
Sheriff, you-

Female: (19:10)
The first thing he hit is the sign.

Sheriff Villanueva: (19:13)
And that’s in the center median. There’s actually two signs. He hit the first one, the southernmost of those two signs, and then he winds up going across southbound lanes into the brush on the other side.

Female: (19:25)
And he hit the tree, is that correct?

Sheriff Villanueva: (19:27)
Yes, there’s a tree, about 8″ stump, and that one was sheared.

Female: (19:31)
Sheriff, is this the-

Male: (19:32)
Sheriff, you talked about the fact that he communicated to you. Can you describe to us his pain threshold at the time? This is a man who has to be rushed into surgery today and his legs are damaged. Was he in shock? Was he in tears? Was he in excruciating pain? How can you describe his reaction to those who first come?

Sheriff Villanueva: (19:52)
I would leave that up to Chief Osby on that one. Good luck with that.

Daryl Osby: (20:00)
Once again, Darryl Osby, Fire Chief, Los Angeles County Fire Department. I can’t respond to the specifics of Tiger Woods. I mean, some of those questions are personal and need to be released from him or whomever’s representing him. The only thing I can tell you from my experience of working in public safety for the past almost four decades, that any time you’re involved in a single vehicle accident like this with rollover and that level of damage and broken legs and lacerations, that you’re going to be in severe pain.

Male: (20:35)
What was your concern then, Chief, when he was injured and you’re transporting him? How concerned were those paramedics to get him to the hospital in a certain amount of time?

Daryl Osby: (20:45)
The fact of the matter is that he was serious condition but he was stable enough to transport to a trauma center. If the injuries were more dramatic and they couldn’t control an airway, then they would have transported him to the nearest facility. But the fact that he was stable enough to be transported to a hospital further away, which was the most appropriate hospital to be transported for because of the nature of the injuries, the nature of the incident, says that it was a very serious injury. He met trauma center criteria, but he wasn’t so serious that he needed to be transported to the nearest hospital for immediate life-saving procedures.

Female: (21:25)
Chief, there’s an L.A. County Fire Captain who says that he was able to stand as they assisted him out of the vehicle. Is there any truth to this idea that he was able to stand?

Daryl Osby: (21:35)
I cannot respond to that statement. I don’t know.

Speaker 26: (21:36)
I will…

Female: (21:39)
Chief, just to clarify, is he still at that same trauma center now or has he been transferred anywhere else?

Daryl Osby: (21:44)
It’s my understanding that he’s still at the Harbor-U.C.L.A. Hospital, and no statement has been allowed to be released yet.

Female: (21:49)
Thank you.

Speaker 26: (21:49)
Actually Deputy Gonzalez was actually the first Deputy on scene so he can perhaps clarify some of the questions that you may have. Go in, Deputy.

Deputy Gonzalez: (21:49)
Good afternoon, I’m a Deputy Gonzalez. I’m assigned to Alameda Sheriff’s station. I’m the handling…

Male: (21:50)
State your name.

Deputy Gonzalez: (21:50)
… Deputy Carlos Gonzalez.

Male: (21:53)
Thank you.

Deputy Gonzalez: (21:53)
I was the first unit on scene and I’m the handling deputy for this current traffic collision.

Female: (22:06)
Deputy Gonzalez, could you speak to that question? There’s an L.A. County Fire Captain who says that Tiger Woods was able to stand as they assisted him out of the vehicle. Is there any truth to the idea that he was able to stand?

Deputy Gonzalez: (22:29)
Unfortunately Mr. Woods was not able to stand under his own power. Our partners at L.A. County Fire were able to extricate him from the vehicle and they put them onto a backboard. When I arrived on the scene, Mr. Woods was seated in the driver’s seat. I made contact with him and I ensured that he was able to speak to me. At that time he seemed as though he was still calm and lucid. I made the determination that it would be safer to wait for L.A. County Fire to help remove him instead of trying to remove him myself. I kept Mr. Woods calm until L.A. County Fire arrived on scene.

Female: (23:03)
Deputy, can you describe his injuries [crosstalk 00:23:03]

Male: (23:03)
What did you do to keep him calm, Deputy?

Deputy Gonzalez: (23:05)
I spoke to him-

Male: (23:06)
What was the conversation? Can you share it with us, please?

Deputy Gonzalez: (23:09)
I asked him what his name was. He told me his name was Tiger and at that moment I immediately recognized him. I asked him if he knew where he was, what time of day, just to make sure he was oriented. He seemed as though he was lucid and calm.

Male: (23:23)
Was he concerned about his injuries?

Deputy Gonzalez: (23:26)
He didn’t seem concerned about his injuries at the time which is not uncommon in traffic collisions. Many times people tend to be in shock. It’s a traumatic experience, so it’s not uncommon for people to be focused on unimportant things, or even if they are in pain, they might not feel it until much later.

Male: (23:42)
Was the incident caught on your body cam?

Deputy Gonzalez: (23:45)
Yes, my body camera was used per department policy.

Female: (23:48)
Deputy, in the photos of the airbags there’s blood. We’re trying to figure out everything that we’re seeing. Did you see any injuries on anywhere other than the legs when you were just assessing him on site?

Deputy Gonzalez: (23:58)
I did observe injuries. I can’t speak as to the nature of the injuries. I’m not a trained medical professional so I-

Deputy Gonzalez: (24:03)
As to the nature of the injuries, I’m not a trained medical professional so I can’t speak to that. What I can say is that he was injured and he was successfully removed and taken to the hospital.

Speaker 27: (24:12)
And you saw that he had his seatbelt on?

Deputy Gonzalez: (24:14)
He was wearing a seat belt.

Speaker 27: (24:14)
And did he have lacerations as well as the leg injury?

Deputy Gonzalez: (24:17)
If he did I was not able to see them due to his clothing.

Speaker 28: (24:20)
You’ve seen a lot of car accidents. Do you think this type of car saved his life? Or do you think a cheaper car, he wouldn’t have had as good [crosstalk 00:24:27]

Deputy Gonzalez: (24:27)
As mentioned by the sheriff, that specific stretch of roadway is one of our trouble spots. Our locals in Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Estates know that it’s a hot spot for traffic collisions, as well as speed. In my experience as a deputy who is traffic-trained and works a traffic car, I have seen many collisions. The nature of his vehicle, the fact that he was wearing a seatbelt, I would say that it greatly increased the likelihood that it saved his life.

Speaker 29: (24:51)
Is this the worst accident that you’ve seen on that stretch?

Deputy Gonzalez: (24:55)
I will say no because I’ve been doing this for a while and I’ve seen fatal traffic collisions, so I will say that it’s very fortunate that Mr. Woods was able to come out of this alive.

Speaker 30: (25:04)
Deputy Gonzalez, this is an accident prone stretch, correct? We’ve seen a number of accidents on this specific stretch, is that correct?

Deputy Gonzalez: (25:12)
This stretch of roadway is downhill, it’s sweeping. The speed limit is 45 miles per hour. Myself, when I’m doing speed enforcement I will sometimes catch people going 80 plus miles per hour so it’s more of a thing that people see a nice stretch of road and maybe they’re not watching your speedometer or maybe they’re in a hurry.

Speaker 30: (25:34)
In your conversations with Tiger, were you ever concerned in the time that you spent with him of his pain threshold or that he was going to lose consciousness at all?

Deputy Gonzalez: (25:43)
At the moment that I spoke to Mr. Woods, I was able to determine that it would have been safer for me to wait for L.A. County Fire because his condition seemed stable and I did not want to risk further injuring him by trying to remove him myself.

Speaker 31: (25:57)
Deputy…

Speaker 29: (25:57)
There was something floating around about a bystander who went in and helped extricate him. Can you tell us if there is any validity to that?

Deputy Gonzalez: (26:03)
So the neighbor that lives behind heard the collision and came down and was the one that directed me to the vehicle. As was indicated by the sheriff, there was another unrelated traffic collision that occurred several feet down the roadway, which I believe was due to people trying to look. And that also kind of distracted from what was occurring, because he was several feet off the roadway so I think most of the attention that people were focused on was on the roadway.

Speaker 32: (26:30)
One more question, one more question.

Speaker 33: (26:33)
Deputy, can you describe what the scene was like inside the car? Did he have enough space to move around, wiggle around, and how did the passenger side look, and how did the back [inaudible 00:26:41]

Deputy Gonzalez: (26:41)
As indicated by the sheriff, the interior passenger compartment of the vehicle was intact. The airbags did deploy successfully. Again, he was wearing his seatbelt. I think this also kind of speaks to the marvel of modern automobiles in that they’re much safer than they’ve ever been previously.

Speaker 29: (26:58)
Deputy, any idea how many times the vehicle flipped?

Deputy Gonzalez: (27:00)
No, we don’t know that at this time.

Deputy Gonzalez: (27:12)
[foreign language 00:27:12]

Speaker 34: (27:12)
Were there security cameras in the area?

Speaker 34: (28:11)
[foreign language 00:28:11]

Speaker 35: (28:11)
Thank you so much.

Speaker 34: (28:37)
[inaudible 00:28:37] citations?

Speaker 32: (28:40)
So thank you all for coming. This concludes our press conference.

Crowd: (28:43)
Thank you.

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