Tiger Woods Accident

[alfred russel]

I'm a little suprised there isn't a thread on this--so what happened? Why are charges pending in a relatively minor accident that didn't involve alcohol? Is this going to tarnish his reputation?

[Neil]

Maybe you should actually tell us what happened.

[alfred russel]

Maybe you should actually tell us what happened.

I don't know what happened. Hence the questions.

[Mr.Penguin]

He has had a car accident and kissed the steering wheel abit to hard. Why it happen no one knows, but atleast the media has had a field day, with Tiger being almost dead, to severely disfigured, to he has broken a tooth...   

[Neil]

Maybe you should actually tell us what happened.

I don't know what happened. Hence the questions.

You clearly have more of an idea than I do.

[alfred russel]

Maybe you should actually tell us what happened.

I don't know what happened. Hence the questions.

You clearly have more of an idea than I do.

I've heard rumors of spousal abuse, infidelity, and drugs. I don't know if any of those are true.

[sbr]

Apparently he crashed his SUV into a fire hydrant and then a tree right outside his house at 2:30 AM.  His wife used a golf club to break the window and "rescue" him from the vehicle.  He emerged with scratches on his face.

It is not thought that he was running from his wife who was trying to beat his ass with said golf club, the "rescue" story is to cover-up the golf club shaped hole in the window.

EDIT: http://www.celebuzz.com/tiger-woods-accident-prepares-upgrade-s158991/

by Tim Kenneally  on Nov. 29, 2009 10:27 AM / Leave a Comment
Tiger Woods' Accident Prepares to Upgrade to Full-Blown Media Circus Status
wenn.com

Board up the windows and head for the storm cellar; there's a major disturbance poised to hit Florida in the next couple of days.

Some intriguing new developments have emerged in the curious case of golf legend Tiger Woods, who had the misfortune of getting into a suspicious car accident over an exceedingly slow news weekend.

As previously reported, Woods was hospitalized during the early-morning hours on Friday, after smashing his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant and tree outside of his Florida home. According to reports, the accident occurred during a fight that Woods had been having with his wife, model Elin Nordegren, over rumors that he had been having an affair with Rachel Uchitel.

Now TMZ reports that Woods told a friend on Friday that his wife had "gone ghetto" on him and that "I need to run to Zales to get a 'Kobe Special'"—described by Woods as "a house on a finger," and an apparent reference to the mega-bling that Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant had laid on his wife Vanessa following his rape trial in Colorado.

In the meantime, TMZ also reports that the Florida Highway Patrol's attempts to interview Woods and Nordegren over the weekend have been stymied by the couple, who have so far twice turned the police away from their home. Police are likely hoping to determine whether the facial lacerations Woods suffered were the result of his altercation with Nordegren or the subsequent accident, and are apparently quite suspicious of Nordegren's version of events. If it's found that Woods' injures were caused by his wife—and police reportedly found no blood in his car's steering wheel—then it's entirely possible that domestic-abuse charges could follow.

One person who is willing to talk, however, is the alleged "other woman," Uchitel. Though she has roundly denied rumors of an affair since news of the accident broke, TMZ reports that she has enlisted the services of infamous attorney/publicity hound Gloria Allred—

[Barrister]

Tiger Woods was injured early Friday when he lost control of his SUV outside his Florida mansion, and a local police chief said Woods' wife used a golf club to smash out the back window to help get him out.

The world's No. 1 golfer was treated and released from a hospital in good condition, his spokesman said. The Florida Highway Patrol said Woods' vehicle hit a fire hydrant and a tree in his neighbor's yard after he pulled out of his driveway at 2:25 a.m.

Windermere police chief Daniel Saylor told The Associated Press that officers found the 33-year-old PGA star lying in the street with his wife, Elin, hovering over him.


Woods
"She was frantic, upset," Saylor said in a briefing Friday night. "It was her husband laying on the ground."

She told officers she was in the house when she heard the accident and "came out and broke the back window with a golf club," he said, adding that the front-door windows were not broken and that "the door was probably locked."

"She supposedly got him out and laid him on the ground," he said. "He was in and out of consciousness when my guys got there."

Saylor said Woods had lacerations to his upper and lower lips, and blood in his mouth; officers treated Woods for about 10 minutes until an ambulance arrived. Woods was conscious enough to speak, he said.

"He was mumbling, but didn't say anything coherent," Saylor said.

The crash knocked Woods unconscious for about six minutes, according to a call report compiled by the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

In a telephone interview, Woods' father-in-law, radio journalist Thomas Nordegren, told The Associated Press in Stockholm that he would not discuss the accident.

"I haven't spoken to her in the last few ... " Nordegren said about his daughter, Elin, before cutting himself off. "I don't want to go into that."

Woods' mother-in-law Barbro Holmberg also refused to address the matter.

"She doesn't want to comment on private issues like these," Holmberg's spokeswoman Eva Malmborg said.

The Florida Highway Patrol said alcohol was not involved, although the accident remains under investigation and charges could be filed.

Woods was alone in his 2009 Cadillac when he pulled out of his driveway from his mansion at Isleworth, a gated waterfront community just outside Orlando, the patrol said.

Woods' injuries were described as serious in the patrol's report, though his spokesman, Glenn Greenspan, issued a statement that Woods was treated and released.

Harig: Queries Abound
With many questions still unanswered about Tiger Woods' car accident, the collective golf world certainly held its breath about the health of the world's No. 1 player. Bob Harig

Left unanswered was where Woods was going at that hour. Greenspan and agent Mark Steinberg said there would be no comment beyond the short statement of the accident posted on Woods' Web site.

Asked at an evening news conference if the couple could have been arguing, Saylor said he had no knowledge of that. The couple, married five years, have two children.

The accident came two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging that Woods had been seeing a New York night club hostess, and that they recently were together in Melbourne, where Woods competed in the Australian Masters.

The woman denied having an affair with Woods when contacted by the AP.

"I resent my reputation is getting completely blasted in the media," she said during a telephone interview late Friday. "Everyone is assuming I came out and said this. This is not a story I have anything to do with."

The woman said she was in Melbourne two weeks ago with clients and never saw Woods the entire time she was there.

"The story stands for itself," National Enquirer executive editor Barry Levine told the AP on Saturday.

Patrol spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes said the accident was being investigated as a "traffic crash."


Get all the latest news, highlights and commentary about the world's No. 1 golfer on ESPN.com. Tiger Tracker
"We don't believe it is a domestic issue," she said.

Woods, coming off a two-week trip to China and Australia earlier this month, is host of the Chevron World Challenge in Thousand Oaks, Calif., which starts Thursday. He is scheduled to have his news conference Tuesday afternoon at Sherwood Country Club. Steinberg said he did not know if Woods planned to play next week.

The Florida Highway Patrol said tapes of the 911 call won't be released until they can be reviewed, probably Monday at the earliest.

The accident report was not released until nearly 12 hours after Woods was injured. Montes said the accident did not meet the criteria of a serious crash, and the FHP only put out a press release because of inquiries from local media.

Montes said the patrol reports injuries as serious if they require more than minor medical attention. Air bags in the SUV did not deploy.

Two troopers tried to talk to Woods on Friday evening, but his wife said he was sleeping and they agreed to come back Saturday, Montes said.

She said charges could be filed if there was a clear traffic violation, although troopers still do not know what caused Woods' SUV to hit the hydrant and the tree.

Damage to the front of Woods' SUV was described as "medium" by Saylor.

"Not real extensive, but not real light," he said.

Woods rarely faces such private scrutiny, even as perhaps the most famous active athlete in the world.

He usually makes news only because of what he can do with a golf club. Few other athletes have managed to keep their private lives so guarded, or have a circle of friends so airtight when it comes to life off the course.

His wife was awarded a $183,250 settlement and an apology from an Irish magazine that published a fake nude photo of her, and Woods received a $1.6 million settlement in a lawsuit against the builder of his yacht -- named Privacy -- for using his name and photos of the boat as promotional material.

Woods is approaching $100 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour, and Forbes magazine reported that combined with endorsements, appearance fees and golf course design, he has become the first athlete to top $1 billion.

Woods' $2.4 million home is part of an exclusive subdivision near Orlando, a community set on an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course and a chain of small lakes. The neighborhood, which is fortified with high brick walls and has its own security force, is home to CEOs and other sports stars such as the NBA's Shaquille O'Neal.

Woods has won 82 times around the world and 14 majors, becoming the first player of black heritage to win a major at the 1997 Masters when he was 21. He attended the Stanford-Cal football game last Saturday, where he tossed the coin at the start of the game and was inducted into Stanford's sports Hall of Fame at halftime.

He won six times this year after missing eight months recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left knee. Even though he failed to win a major, Woods said he considered this a successful year because he did not know how his knee would respond.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=4693657

[jimmy olsen]

Apparently he crashed his SUV into a fire hydrant and then a tree right outside his house at 2:30 AM.  His wife used a golf club to break the window and "rescue" him from the vehicle.  He emerged with scratches on his face.

It is not thought that he was running from his wife who was trying to beat his ass with said golf club, the "rescue" story is to cover-up the golf club shaped hole in the window.

Not or now?

[CountDeMoney]

Still won't talk to the cops about it.

Golfer says accident was his fault, decries 'false, unfounded and malicious' rumors

The Associated Press
5:10 PM EST, November 29, 2009
WINDERMERE, Fla.

Tiger Woods canceled yet another meeting with state troopers but, for the first time, talked about his car crash on his Web site, saying it was his fault, that his wife acted courageously and that remaining details were private.

The statement was posted about an hour before state troopers were to meet with the world's No. 1 golfer at his home inside the gates of Isleworth. A meeting was not rescheduled.

In a tape of an emergency services call released Sunday, two days after the accident, a neighbor told dispatchers that a black Cadillac Escalade hit a tree and "I have someone down in front of my house."

Woods' neighbor never mentions the golfer by name, and the call is inaudible at several points because of the bad connection.

"I came out here just to see what was going on," the neighbor, who was not identified, told dispatchers. "I see him, and he's laying down."

One woman is heard in the background yelling, "What happened?"

In a statement posted on his Web site, Woods took responsibility for the accident.

"This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me," Woods said. "I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again."

Woods said it was a private matter, and he wanted to keep it that way.

"Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible," he said.

Windermere police chief Daniel Saylor has said Woods' wife, Elin, used a golf club to smash out a rear window to help him get out of the SUV when she heard the crash from inside their home at 2:25 a.m. Friday.

"The only person responsible for the accident is me," Woods said. "My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false."

Sgt. Kim Montes of the Florida Highway Patrol said Woods' attorney, Mark Nejame, informed the patrol that Woods would not be meeting with troopers Sunday afternoon.

"It has not been rescheduled," Montes said. "He's not required by law to give us a statement, and we'll move forward with our investigation without it."

Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent at IMG, said in an e-mail Sunday:

"We have been informed by the Florida Highway Patrol that further discussion with them is both voluntary and optional. Although Tiger realizes that there is a great deal of public curiosity, it has been conveyed to FHP that he simply has nothing more to add and wishes to protect the privacy of his family."

Police first tried to interview Woods on Friday, only for his wife to ask if they could return the next day because he was sleeping.

As they headed to Woods' $2.4 million house inside the gates of Isleworth on Saturday afternoon, FHP dispatch put through a phone call to troopers from Woods' agent, informing them that Woods and his wife would be unavailable to talk until Sunday.

The accident came two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging that Woods had been seeing a New York night club hostess, and that they recently were together in Melbourne, where Woods competed in the Australian Masters.

The woman, Rachel Uchitel, denied having an affair with Woods when contacted by The Associated Press.

Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred confirmed she was representing Uchitel when she was reached by the AP on Sunday.

"She is with me in L.A.," Allred said later in an e-mail to the AP. "We plan to meet and then we'll decide on the next step, which we do not plan to announce to the press."

Uchitel arrived at Los Angeles International Airport late Sunday morning, where she was met by Allred and escorted out of the baggage claim area and into a black car. Uchitel did not speak to reporters except to ask that she be left alone.

Woods is to host his Chevron World Challenge this week in Thousand Oaks, California, which benefits his foundation. Woods' news conference had been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, although it was not clear if he would still play, or even attend.

"We do not know if Tiger is playing; we are anticipating a great week of competition," said Greg McLaughlin, the tournament director and president of his foundation.

In a telephone interview, Woods' father-in-law, radio journalist Thomas Nordegren, told the AP in Stockholm that he would not discuss the accident.

"I haven't spoken to her in the last few ... " Nordegren said about his daughter, Elin, before cutting himself off. "I don't want to go into that."

Woods' mother-in-law Barbro Holmberg also refused to address the matter.

"She doesn't want to comment on private issues like these," Holmberg's spokeswoman Eva Malmborg said.

Aside from occasional criticism of his temper inside the ropes, Woods has kept himself out of the news beyond his sport. In an October posting on his Facebook account, Woods wrote, "I'm asked why people don't often see me and Elin in gossip magazines or tabloids. I think we've avoided a lot of media attention because we're kind of boring. ..."

"He's an iconic brand, the platinum standard," said John Rowady, president of rEvolution, a Chicago-based sports marketing agency. "I find it interesting how he's being attacked by so many sides after how gracious he's been. But even the best of celebrities who try to do their best can be riddled with controversy."

If it were Jim Brown, Ike Turner, Jackson Browne or any other number of celebrities known for incidents involving slapping the missus about a bit,  then I'd be concerned.
But it's Tiger Woods.  C'mon.

[sbr]

Apparently he crashed his SUV into a fire hydrant and then a tree right outside his house at 2:30 AM.  His wife used a golf club to break the window and "rescue" him from the vehicle.  He emerged with scratches on his face.

It is not thought that he was running from his wife who was trying to beat his ass with said golf club, the "rescue" story is to cover-up the golf club shaped hole in the window.

Not or now?

Now.

[KRonn]

Poor Tiger. There were other stories out there before this about an affair, and then this happens. All blown out of proportion or wrong. And if he's having an affair, big deal; his family's issue to deal with. Tough to be famous, a celeb, and have everything of his life out there.

[DGuller]

I don't know what's more ridiculous: the Woods' story, or the media story.

[Berkut]

Yeah, poor Tiger. What a hellacious life he must be living.

[Habbaku]

Sleeping in a pile of money every night must've really gotten to him.