On Monday, California police reportedly obtained the “black box” in the car golfer Tiger Woods crashed late last month.
The Los Angeles Police Department told USA Today that the search warrant was procedural — even though law enforcement must establish probable cause that a crime had occurred to acquire a warrant. However, police reportedly declined to get a search warrant for Woods’ blood to ascertain whether he was under the influence of medication at the time of the February 23 crash.
“We’re trying to determine if a crime was committed,” Sheriff’s Deputy John Schloegl told the news outlet “If somebody is involved in a traffic collision, we’ve got to reconstruct the traffic collision…We determine if there was a crime. If there was no crime, we close out the case, and it was a regular traffic collision.”
Police said the black box contains data about the Genesis GV80’s breaking activity, acceleration, and steering angle, according to ESPN.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva previously called the wreck involving Woods, 45, in Palos Verdes “purely an accident, and said the golfer will not be facing a reckless driving charge.
Initial reports indicated that alcohol was not believed to have been a factor in last month’s crash. Villanueva echoed those sentiments on Wednesday, saying there is no indication Woods was under the influence of any substances at the time.
Woods is believed to have been driving at a high rate of speed when he lost control, crossing a center divider and rolling multiple times before stopping. Pictures apparently showed Woods’ vehicle on its side and roughly 30 yards from the road.
Woods was trapped in the Genesis GV80 and was pulled out of the car through the windshield. Doctors reportedly inserted a rod into his tibia and screws and pins were placed in his foot and ankle.
Schloegl told USA Today Woods’ reps have cooperated with their ongoing investigation.
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[Featured image: Tiger Woods/AP Photo/Ryan Kang]
