Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Police Update Car Crash Involving Tiger Woods; Source Says, Tiger Woods Has Non-Life-Threatening Injuries, Suffered Compound Fractures In Legs; Sheriff Says, Authorities Saw No Evidence Of Impairment In Woods' Crash; Tiger Woods Reportedly In Surgery After Suffering Multiple Leg Injuries In Crash. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 23, 2021 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[18:00:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

We're following breaking news on golf legend Tiger Woods hospitalized right now after a very serious rollover car crash in California. We're standing by for a news conference by the Los Angeles County sheriff. That's expected to begin any moment now. We will have live coverage.

Also tonight, The L.A. Times reporting that Woods was traveling at a high rate of speed early this morning, before the crash, and that he was pulled out of the car through the front windshield.

We're told Woods' injuries are not -- repeat -- not life-threatening and he has what are described as compound fractures in his legs. Woods' agent is quoted as saying the 45-year-old sports icon has been undergoing surgery.

A sheriff's department officials says Woods' car crossed on to the wrong side of the road, before it flipped on its side. No other people or cars were involved.

Let's start our coverage this hour, as we await this news conference. Let's go to the hospital where Tiger Woods reportedly has been undergoing surgery.

CNN's Josh Campbell is on the scene for us.

So, what are you learning, Josh? What can you tell us?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Wolf, tonight, golfing legend Tiger Woods is recovering behind me here in the hospital.

We're here at the nearest level one trauma center in the South Bay of Los Angeles. After that violent car crash this morning after 7:00 a.m., we're told that authorities arrived within six minutes and saw this vehicle in a just a state of this crash, this violent crash.

We're told that this golfing legend Tiger Woods was brought out through the window, that according to "The Los Angeles Times." Apparently we're told the vehicle was heading down a steep decline...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Hold on a second, Josh.

The sheriff, Alex Villanueva, is about to brief us.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... which occurred this morning involving Eldrick Tiger Woods.

Joining Sheriff Villanueva is Lomita Sheriff Captain James Powers and other members of the executive command staff.

Also joining us here today is L.A. County Fire Chief Daryl Osby.

Now I would like to introduce the sheriff of Los Angeles County, Alex Villanueva.

ALEX VILLANUEVA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF: Thank you, Captain Mendoza (ph).

Today, at 7:12 in the morning, Lomita Sheriff's Station received a call of a solo vehicle collision in Harbor -- or Hawthorne Boulevard, north of Palos Verdes Drive.

We arrived on scene at 7:18 a.m. and discovered the solo vehicle collision, and the sole occupant was, again, Tiger Woods. And deputies, at the time, they didn't see any evidence of impairment, anything that -- 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. And it was a solo vehicle. Unfortunately, during the course of the investigation of this, there was another traffic collision happened with people being lookie loos.

And -- but that -- 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 brush, sustained major damage to the vehicle. You have seen all the images of that.

And with that, our Lomita Sheriff Station will be conducting the traffic investigation. And it will 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 will be available based on public record act requests, and we will not discuss it any further after that point.

But, at this point, I want to introduce Chief Daryl Osby, L.A. County Fire Department.

DARYL OSBY, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE CHIEF: Good afternoon. I'm Fire Chief Daryl Osby of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. At approximately 7:22 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 sheriff's 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. 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 axe was also used to pry the person free from the vehicle.

[18:05:03]

The person was packaged at the incident in stable condition with serious injuries. And because of the fact 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.

VILLANUEVA: And the vehicle involved is a 2021 Genesis. It's a mid- size SUV.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

BLITZER: All right, we're going to -- while he's speaking in Spanish, we are going to go back to the Q&A.

I'm sure reporters have a lot of questions.

But I want to bring in our Dr. Sanjay Gupta, our chief medical correspondent.

Sanjay, you have been following this now for the past few hours. We're getting not a whole lot of information about his medical condition. But what do you hear, what do you suspect?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have got a few more details just now.

We hear about the nature of the collision, high speed, rolled several hundred feet, and that Tiger Woods was extricated from the vehicle through the windshield.

What they also said at that point was that they basically -- they used the term they packaged him, which is a sort of trauma-triage term, where they basically mean that they prepared him to be able to be transported, and also said that at the time of that transport, he was in stable condition. So, these were a few additional details. (CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: All right, Sanjay, hold on for a moment. They're back in English, I want to hear what they're saying.

QUESTION: Anything more specific about that? And you also made mention that lifesaving efforts were performed. Can you be more specific about that?

VILLANUEVA: Well, the deputies arrive on scene. There is a vehicle that's rolled over. There's someone inside the vehicle. They can't remove them.

Obviously, that's -- we will leave it at that. He was alive, and he was conscious. And that's the extent of that.

QUESTION: What about the evidence of the impairment? You said there was no evidence.

VILLANUEVA: There was 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.

QUESTION: Nothing was removed from the scene or found at the scene?

VILLANUEVA: No evidence of impairment at this point in time. But I will let Chief Osby...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: ... Chief Osby for a second.

Chief Osby...

OSBY: Good morning.

QUESTION: Was Tiger Woods conscious when you got there? Did he say anything to the paramedics who arrived? And can you tell us a little bit more? If you didn't use the jaws of life, how exactly did that extrication process take place?

OSBY: OK.

The information I got back from my personnel and the things that they do is, they would 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 to the 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 of 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 tube used for prying. And we also used an ax to pry him from the vehicle. He was taken from the vehicle with C-collar and backboard for spinal precautions.

He was -- had the proper splints. Because of the nature of the incident, being a solo vehicle rollover, and the fact that it required an extrication, that meant trauma center criteria. The nearest trauma center to the area is Harbor UCLA Hospital, where he was transported in serious, but stable condition.

QUESTION: Which leg?

OSBY: That, I do not know. It's my understanding that he had serious injuries to both legs.

QUESTION: Both legs.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Was it his decision to go Harbor UCLA, or you took him to the closest emergency room?

Given his condition at the time, was it that severe, that's what you had to do?

OSBY: The determination to where to be transported was made by the paramedics and the captain unseen.

The reason 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 rollover vehicle, and the damage to the vehicle, and also it 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.

[18:10:00]

QUESTION: Was he airlifted? And can you tell us if he had injuries anywhere other than his legs? And were any of those injuries critical?

OSBY: It was my under -- he was not airlifted. There were no other life-endangering injuries, to my knowledge.

QUESTION: Sheriff Villanueva, a question, if you would.

I know it's a little early. The investigators haven't done all their stuff on that. But any indication about the speed at the time that the vehicle lost control over the center divider? Every -- all the reporters have talked to neighbors saying, you're

going down that hill, you take your foot off the brakes, you're at 50- plus before you do it.

Any indication how fast that vehicle may have been going at the time he flipped?

VILLANUEVA: Well, at the time it made -- it crossed the center divider to the point that it rested was several hundred feet away. So, I obviously, that indicates they were going at a relatively greater speed than normal.

However, because it is downhill, it slopes, and also it curves, that area has a high frequency of accidents. It is not uncommon.

QUESTION: Any skid marks or any (OFF-MIKE) he tried to brake or stop?

VILLANUEVA: 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.

QUESTION: And they haven't give you any kind of a preliminary indication in excess of 45, 50 (OFF-MIKE) miles an hour?

VILLANUEVA: That -- they're going to have to figure that one out. That's why the traffic investigators make the big bucks that they make.

QUESTION: Sheriff, what can you tell us about his condition now? Are you still in touch with Mr. Woods's team.

VILLANUEVA: We have reached out. We have been in touch with his manager, and they do not want to release anything on his condition right now.

QUESTION: We hear that he is out of surgery and perhaps been moved to his own room, Sheriff?

VILLANUEVA: All we know, that serious condition as a result of the accident. And that's all they want to say.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Are you looking at weather as a factor in this accident, Sheriff Villanueva?

VILLANUEVA: Weather is not a factor.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) get him out of the car? How long was that process?

VILLANUEVA: Well, we arrived on scene at 7:18. They were notified within four minutes. And...

OSBY: Yes.

We got the call from the sheriff's 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.

QUESTION: Do you have any indication there were drugs or medications involved (OFF-MIKE)

OSBY: No.

QUESTION: Who called it in? Did someone call 911, a bystander? (OFF- MIKE)

VILLANUEVA: We had a neighbor call 911. That's how the call was received at the station.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) Did he fall -- is it possible he asleep at the wheel?

VILLANUEVA: No evidence of impairment at this time. That will be subject to the investigation.

QUESTION: When you say no evidence of impairment, what exactly -- what impairments are you looking at?

VILLANUEVA: Well, we're looking at signs of influence -- under the influence of either narcotics, medication, alcohol, odor of alcohol, all these different things that would give you an idea and their behavior, but there was none present.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) episodes, appear he could have fallen asleep? (OFF-MIKE)

VILLANUEVA: That -- now we're going beyond what we have at the time. So, that will take -- the investigators will have to figure that out.

QUESTION: I understand some vehicles now have essentially a black box that reports their information about how the fast is car is going. Did air bags deploy? Telemetry (OFF-MIKE) Did this vehicle have that? (OFF-MIKE) information from that in the investigation?

VILLANUEVA: The investigators will be able to -- if they have it, they will be able to have that and download it. And that will give us a good idea.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Was (OFF-MIKE) Tiger's team following the vehicle? Was it just him solo?

VILLANUEVA: Not that we're aware of. QUESTION: Sheriff, you said that he was conscious (OFF-MIKE) Was he

able to communicate how much pain he was in, whether or not -- was he able to communicate at all?

VILLANUEVA: He was able to communicate. And he was conscious. I will leave it at that.

QUESTION: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

VILLANUEVA: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

QUESTION: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

VILLANUEVA: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

QUESTION: Sheriff, do you know how long he was in the car before 911 arrived? Did he say at all how long he had been waiting?

VILLANUEVA: Well, we got the call at 7:12. And that came from the neighbor. So, we have to assume it -- they made that call almost immediately as soon as it happened, because the neighbors, they are sitting right within 50 feet of the location.

So...

QUESTION: So, they saw the crash happen?

VILLANUEVA: If they didn't see it, they heard it, because it literally happened at their doorstep.

QUESTION: This is a courtesy car that he was driving, a Genesis courtesy car; is that correct?

VILLANUEVA: That is correct.

QUESTION: And is it possible that Mr. Woods was on the phone when the accident occurred? Or is this one of the factors that we're going to be considering?

VILLANUEVA: That's something we will have to explore. The investigators will have to ascertain that, if it was distracted driving.

[18:15:00]

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) Osby, can you describe how the axe and the special tool were used to extricate him from the vehicle, as far as the doors go? How were the tools used (OFF-MIKE)?

OSBY: OK.

As it pertains to the vehicle, as articulated earlier, it was a rollover accident.

And so Tiger Woods was trapped inside the vehicle. So, our firefighters and our firefighter paramedics used the pry bar -- they call it a Halligan tool -- and an axe to pry parts of the vehicle away from him, so they were able to safely extricate him from the vehicle.

QUESTION: 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?

VILLANUEVA: They recognized him, and he identified himself as well.

QUESTION: Sheriff, did you say no blood was drawn at the scene from Tiger?

VILLANUEVA: No, we don't have that capability, nor do we want it.

QUESTION: 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 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 this is Tiger Woods, and this is the way we're going the handle it?

VILLANUEVA: Well, any serious accident of this nature is going the take time. It usually takes hours. And removing the vehicle is one of the last steps. And they have done all their markers, taken all their measurements, gathered up all the stuff.

And then three or four hours is pretty normal, actually.

QUESTION: The celebrity component is not playing a factor?

VILLANUEVA: I don't think that will play a factor in it.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Were the neighbors approaching him, like checking on his well-being? Did they like make to it the site and actually make contact with him?

VILLANUEVA: No, they did not. No. There is a bluff. They're sitting about 20 feet above the place where the vehicle came to rest.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Sheriff, can you talk a little bit if he was able to stand after he was taken out? Was he able take a couple of steps? Can you talk a little bit about what that looked like?

VILLANUEVA: He was not able to get up, no. That was not an option.

QUESTION: 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?

VILLANUEVA: At the hospital, he did, but not at the scene.

QUESTION: I'm sorry, sir. Can you clarify?

VILLANUEVA: He did at the hospital, but not at the scene.

QUESTION: He asked you to contact...

VILLANUEVA: Yes.

QUESTION: ... a member of his family?

VILLANUEVA: Who was it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A member of his team.

VILLANUEVA: Oh, a member of his team.

Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) ... inside the car?

VILLANUEVA: Huh?

QUESTION: Can you talk about the conditions inside the car? Was he trapped? Was he able to move at all?

VILLANUEVA: Well, the interior -- the cabinet of the vehicle was more or less intact. The front end was totally destroyed. The bumpers, everything was destroyed. Air bags deployed, all of that.

And, 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.

QUESTION: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

VILLANUEVA: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

QUESTION: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

VILLANUEVA: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

QUESTION: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

VILLANUEVA: No. (SPEAKING SPANISH)

QUESTION: Was he wearing a seat belt? Or did he give any indication of where he was coming from or heading to?

VILLANUEVA: Well, he was -- definitely was heading northbound on Hawthorne.

QUESTION: Was he wearing a seat belt?

VILLANUEVA: Yes.

QUESTION: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

VILLANUEVA: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

QUESTION: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

VILLANUEVA: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

QUESTION: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

VILLANUEVA: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

QUESTION: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

VILLANUEVA: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

(CROSSTALK)

VILLANUEVA: What was that?

QUESTION: Did he hit the Rolling Hills Estate sign that is right there?

VILLANUEVA: That -- 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.

QUESTION: Sheriff, can you repeat that?

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) Do we know where (OFF-MIKE)

VILLANUEVA: Not to my knowledge, no.

QUESTION: Sheriff, there are some reports that he was seen speeding earlier in day. Have you heard those? And will you be conducting any other interviews following up on those?

VILLANUEVA: That will be up to the traffic investigators and the relevancy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any more questions?

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) factor in this?

VILLANUEVA: Well, like every accident in that area, when it's downhill on a curve, the speed, the vehicle code 22350 says unsafe speed for driving conditions.

Typically, in an accident, when there's -- it's a factor, that is one of the 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.

[18:20:11] Thank 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.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE) I know you had answered a question, but just some clarity. He is coming down off the hill? Speed, we think, is a factor.

What is the first thing he hit when loses control and goes over (OFF- MIKE) Walk us through the sequence of events there.

VILLANUEVA: From what I understand, the first thing was, when he made contact with the center median, it would be the welcome to Rolling Hills Estate sign.

QUESTION: Sheriff...

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: That's the first thing he hits, is the sign?

VILLANUEVA: And that's in the center median. There's actually two signs. He hit the first one, the southernmost of us two signs.

And then he winds up going across southbound lanes into the brush on the other side.

QUESTION: And he hit the tree? Is that correct?

VILLANUEVA: Yes, there is a tree, about eight-inch stump, and that one was sheared.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: You talked about the fact that he was -- he communicated to you.

Can you describe to us his pain threshold at this -- 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 got there?

VILLANUEVA: I will leave that up to Chief Osby on that one.

(LAUGHTER)

VILLANUEVA: Good luck with that.

OSBY: Yes.

Once again, Daryl Osby, fire chief of 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 is representing him. The only thing I can tell you from my experience of working in public

safety for the past 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.

QUESTION: 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?

OSBY: The fact of the matter is that he was a 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 able to -- he was stable enough to be transported to a hospital farther 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 lifesaving procedures.

QUESTION: Chief, there's a 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?

OSBY: I cannot respond to that statement. I don't know.

QUESTION: Chief, just to clarify, is he still at that same trauma center now? Or has he been transferred anywhere else?

OSBY: It's my understanding that he is still at Harbor General -- or -- excuse me -- Harbor UCLA Hospital, and no statement has been allowed for release yet -- to be released yet.

VILLANUEVA: Actually, before -- Deputy Gonzalez was actually the first deputy on scene. So, he can perhaps clarify some of the questions that you may have.

CARLOS GONZALEZ, LOMITA SHERIFF'S STATION DEPUTY: Good afternoon. I'm Deputy Gonzalez. I'm assigned to Lomita's Sheriff Station. I'm the handling...

QUESTION: First name.

GONZALEZ: Deputy Carlos Gonzalez.

I was the first unit on scene. And I'm the handling deputy for the -- for this current traffic collision.

QUESTION: 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?

GONZALEZ: 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 him on to a backboard.

When I arrived on 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 the scene.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: What did you do to keep him calm, Deputy?

GONZALEZ: I spoke to him. I asked...

QUESTION: What was the conversation? Can you share with us, please?

GONZALEZ: I asked him what his name was. He said 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.

QUESTION: Was he concerned about his injuries?

[18:25:02]

GONZALEZ: He didn't seem concerned of 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.

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: Was the incident caught on your body cam?

GONZALEZ: Yes, my body camera was used, per department policy.

QUESTION: Deputy, in the photos of the air bags, there is blood. We're trying to figure out anything we're seeing.

Did you see any injuries on him other than the legs, as you were just assessing him on-site?

GONZALEZ: I did observe injuries. I can't speak into -- 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.

QUESTION: And you saw that he had a seat belt on?

GONZALEZ: He was wearing a seat belt.

QUESTION: Did he have lacerations, as well as the leg injuries?

GONZALEZ: If he did, I was not able to see them due to his clothing.

QUESTION: You have seen a lot of car accidents. Do you think this type of car saved his life? Or you think like a cheaper car wouldn't have had (OFF-MIKE)

GONZALEZ: 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 seat belt, I would say that it greatly increased the likelihood that it saved his life.

QUESTION: Is this the worst accident you have seen on that stretch?

GONZALEZ: I would will say no, because I have been doing this for a while, and I have seen fatal traffic collisions. So, I will say that it's very fortunate that Mr. Woods was able to come out of this alive.

QUESTION: Deputy Gonzalez, this is an accident-prone stretch, correct? We have seen a number of accidents on this specific stretch; is that correct?

GONZALEZ: This stretch of roadway is downhill. It's sweeping.

Speeds there -- 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 this -- people see a nice stretch of road, and maybe they're not watching their speedometer, or maybe they're in a hurry.

QUESTION: In your conversations with Tiger, were you ever concerned in the time that you spent with him that -- of his pain threshold or that he was going lose consciousness at all?

GONZALEZ: 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 himself by trying to remove himself myself.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

GONZALEZ: So, the neighbor that lives behind heard the collision and came down and was one the that was 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 wasn't on the roadway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One more question. One more question.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

QUESTION: Deputy, can you describe what things looked like inside of the car? (OFF-MIKE)

GONZALEZ: As indicated by the sheriff, the interior passenger compartment of the vehicle was intact. The air bags did deploy successfully.

Again, he was wearing his seat belt. I think this also kind of speaks to the marvel of modern automobiles, in that they're much safer than they have ever been previously.

QUESTION: Deputy, any idea how many times the vehicle flipped?

GONZALEZ: We don't know that at this time.

QUESTION: Do you speak Spanish?

GONZALEZ: Si.

QUESTION: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

GONZALEZ: (SPEAKING SPANISH)

BLITZER: All right, so there you have it, the L.A. sheriff Deputy Carlos Gonzalez giving us a very, very detailed personal account.

He was there on the scene first. Tiger Woods, he says, was -- he was cogent, he was conscious, he was clearly alive. They spoke. He tried to reassure him before the paramedics from the L.A. Fire Department -- County -- L.A. County Fire Department would show up.

We heard from him. Got a lot of details from Sheriff Alex Villanueva, the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, and from Daryl Osby, the fire chief of the L.A. County.

It's really amazing that he survived this crash, because, if you look at the pictures, it is clearly awful.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, our chief medical correspondent, is listening -- was listening carefully, very serious leg injuries, but he was alert.

He was -- there was no evidence that he was unconscious or anything along those lines, Sanjay.

[18:30:09]

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, calm and lucid was how the deputy described when he first saw Tiger Woods. He was talking to him through the window. And he felt, based on him assessing Tiger Woods, that he could even, in fact, wait for the L.A. County Fire Department to show up to actually extricate him. So these are all little clues that obviously a very serious car accident, and we know that Tiger Woods was in serious condition.

But there was a sense that this was something at least at the scene where he could be stabilized. They felt that they could transport him safely by ambulance to a trauma center, which was a little bit further away than the closest hospital, which, you know, several things, it gives you these clues.

First of all, there wasn't a problem with something very immediate like his airway or that he was why he made him bleeding. They felt that the bleeding could largely be controlled, and also that he needed to be at a trauma center because they were pretty certain, it sounds like at the time, that he would need something done for his leg injuries.

They also made mention heard, Wolf, as you heard the airbags went off seat, that he was wearing a seatbelt, the cabin of the car was relatively intact, which makes sense, because it doesn't sound like he had some sort of head injury or something like that, that obviously could have been a bigger problem, or a chest injury or something like that.

I will say, Wolf, just with these types of situations, that is sort of the picture at the time. You don't know a lot. You're just basically trying to collect as many clues as you can and make a determination. And now we'll hear from the doctors at some point who are caring for him and the overall nature of his injuries, were there injuries, other injuries beside his legs. We don't know for sure because sometimes you only find those after a more full and thorough examination.

So that's of I'm sure what happened at the hospital in addition to the operation, which most likely was to address bleeding and these fractures. You can have a lot of bleeding from leg fractures, from the femur, a very large bone. When that -- if that breaks, and we don't know that it did, but if that was a broken bone, you can have a lot of bleeding from that, that could cause someone to have their blood pressure drop, and that may have been why they were saying he was in serious condition, that would qualify for that, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, and it's really amazing, because he did say the deputy sheriff, Carlos Gonzalez, that he was wearing a seatbelt, there were airbags that opened up, and that probably, he said, saved his life, right?

GUPTA: Yes. You know, that was interesting to hear that description of the roadway there, and the deputy, as you heard, Wolf, talked about the fact that he's seen fatal car accidents there and say it's a pretty problematic stretch of road, it sounds like. But, yes, I mean, he was going at a high rate of speed, went through some sort of road sign, it sounds like, went over the median, crossed over the opposing lanes, then went several hundred feet into the brush, the surrounding brush, hit a tree that was about eight inches in diameter, he said. So you know, it was a significant accident.

But it sounds like the majority of the deceleration and the absorption of the force was on the front of the car. And the cabin itself, even though it sounds like it rolled, stayed intact. So all those things, it sounds like, played a role in making this not as serious as it could have been.

Again, we don't even how serious still these leg injuries are. And even though it doesn't sound like he had a head injury or chest injury, his leg injuries could be serious, you know, very serious. He could have a significant amount of bleeding. So, certainly, we want to hear from the doctors at Harbor, the trauma center where he's been taken and operated, to basically give an update on his condition at some point.

BLITZER (voice over): They noted he was not able to stand on his own. They used, according to the L.A. County Fire chief, Darryl Osby, they had to use what he describe as a pry bar and an axe to pry parts of the vehicle, the windshield, for example, away from Woods and get him out of there once the paramedics arrived. And then he said he had to be packaged or put into a package. Explain what that means, Sanjay.

GUPTA (voice over): Yes, Wolf. First of all, with regard to not standing, that doesn't surprise me at all. I think in these types of trauma situations, you have to basically treat the patient, the passenger, as if they could have all sorts of different injuries. So, you know, you have to anticipate, is there a spinal cord injury. So you would not ask somebody to stand if you could avoid it.

And it sounds like they were able to take him out, put him onto a backboard, a backboard to basically keep his spine immobilized. They may have put a neck collar on him at that point as well to make sure in case he had any as of yet undetected spine fractures in his neck, that they would not cause further problem by actually causing compression on the spinal cord. That's all part of this sort of packaging and getting him ready for transport.

[18:35:03]

They may have put these compression devices even on his legs so as to try and, you know, slow down the bleeding, if there was active bleeding that was going on.

So these are all sort of things that go on. But it's a scoop and run sort of mentality, Wolf, typically with these types of situations. You want to do what you need to do at the scene but then the goal is to get him to the hospital in more definitive care as quickly as possible and -- but again, within reason.

They didn't fly him. They took him to a trauma center as supposed to a hospital closer by. And these are all decisions made based on what you think the -- how unstable he may be or how much time is of the essence. And in this case, they thought time was of the essence but that he did better at a trauma hospital, he could tolerate that transport.

BLITZER (voice over): We heard deputy, Sheriff Deputy Carlos Gonzalez, say he communicated with Tiger Woods once he got to the scene and that he asked Tiger Woods his name and he said, Tiger, and he, of course, immediately knew who he was.

What was so impressive, Sanjay, was that they got the 911 call from a neighbor at 7:12. The sheriff arrived at 7:18. Then the fire department got the call at 7:22. By 7:28 the paramedics were on the scene. They were moving very, very quickly. And as you correctly point out, and as the sheriff and the fire chief pointed out, this is pretty dangerous strip of road, there have been a lot of accidents there, 45 mile or so an hour speed limit, but people are driving 80 miles an hour, and as a result they crash and potentially can kill themselves.

GUPTA: Yes, no doubt, Wolf. But to your point, I mean, you think about that speed of actually being able to arrive on the scene, assess the situation, extricate him, have him basically prepared to be able to be transported to a hospital. That happened, it sounds like, very quickly. I was sort of doing the math on that as well, 7:12, the call came in, 7:22, as when they sort of already had the situation assessed. And then it sounds like about six minutes later is when they started the process of extrication, if that timing, as I heard it, is correct.

So that matters, Wolf, in these situations. If someone is having significant bleeding, for example, what would have otherwise been something that was very addressable could turn into something potentially fatal. So that sort of time matters. And, obviously, getting the call from 911, that quick response, probably noting that, oh, we got a call on this particular stretch of road, it's a road that they knew well for these types of accidents. So, yes, it sounds like the system worked today.

And they also made a point of saying, as you hear Wolf, that it was interesting, the first comment the sheriff made was there was no signs of impairment. He didn't elaborate more on that, but no signs of impairment. But they will look for those types of things as well as any evidence of cell phone activity just before the accident, all that sort of stuff. Some of that data may come back much later. But that was another comment that he made right at the beginning of that news conference.

BLITZER (voice over): And no evidence of impairment, meaning they didn't do a blood test or anything to check for alcohol or drug use, right?

GUPTA (voice over): Yes. So I think it's a very vague statement, I guess he was saying if there had been an obvious sign of impairment, odor of alcohol or just very clearly the person is impaired, he probably wouldn't have said no impairment.

But you're absolutely right, Wolf, you can't know. I mean, there's a lot of things that still need to be confirmed in terms of these blood tests, the imaging tests, making sure there's no other injuries, what are the extent of these leg injuries, how much blood did he actually lose. You know, he said five spine surgeries. What is the status of the hardware that has been place in his spine for those spine fusions? It was -- were those affected at all?

Again, you have to treat everyone like they might have a spinal cord injury, which is what it sounds like they did here. But, again, I don't think at this point we still know the full extent. But it sounds like as far as the head, the chest, the torso of his body, you know, things that are often associated with more immediate life-threatening injuries, thankfully Tiger Woods didn't seem to have suffered those.

BLITZER: You know, let's hope for the best. Sanjay, stand by, I want to bring in veteran sportscaster, the CNN Contributor Bob Costas, who has been listening very patiently to all of this. So what do you make of these details, Bob, that we just got at these news conference?

BOB COSTAS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I'm not going to get beyond my expertise, but now, having listened to the sheriff and the representative from the fire department, and then getting the medical expertise of Dr. Gupta, We can say that our worst fears, when we saw the visual of the vehicle, heard erroneously at first about the jaws of life, heard serious to critical, initially, our worst fears we can put aside. These injuries are not life-threatening. But what we can also say is, they most certainly are career threatening if we're defining career as playing competitive golf at the highest levels.

BLITZER: You're absolutely right. Let's just hope he makes a recovery, forget about the career right now, we just want him to be okay.

[18:40:02]

He's been recovering, as you know, Bob, since December from major back surgery, just hosted the PGA tour, this Genesis Tournament in the Los Angeles area. Tell us about that and what he's been up to over the past few days, just ahead of this accident.

COSTAS: Well, he has only been putting and maybe wedge play chipping, that sort of thing. He can't go all out, he can't hit the driving range. He had had recent surgery to have some fragments, some disk fragments removed that were pinching a nerve. That was his fifth back surgery, which included a spinal fusion some time ago. He's had other injuries besides that. And he's 45 years old at an advanced athletic age.

The fact that it was only two years ago that he had that spectacular comeback victory at the Masters may have led us to believe that he had returned to something close to his peak. But that might have been a one-off, even without this latest event, at 45 and hobbling quite a bit. And he told Jim Nance on CBS on Sunday that he could only hope to play

in the Masters in April. Obviously, that's not a consideration now, but at that time, he could only hope to play.

So even prior to this morning, Tiger Woods' future as a major factor at the top of the leader boards was in doubt. And now I think it's in doubt as to whether or not he can even play at all at that level. We'll see.

BLITZER: Yes, because you're absolutely right, his career, all of us who followed his career over these past 20, 25 years, there's been ups and there's been downs. He's come back though from adversity, personal adversity, professional adversity. What does this accident, do you think, mean going down the road for Tiger Woods?

COSTAS: Well, if you saw the recent HBO two-part documentary about Tiger's life and career, it's already filled with drama. It's filled with exhilaration and also humiliation, triumph and tragedy, as they say. It has all kinds of texture, even without this. I mentioned to Jake Tapper a couple of hours ago, if you were to make a movie about Tiger Woods, the last scene would probably be on the 18th Green at Augusta two years ago.

That would be the perfect ending. So I don't think we needed any additional drama for Tiger Woods' story to already be among the most compelling in the history of American sports. What he has going for him, just as a public figure, and I think what's happened over the last few hours at CNN and elsewhere, is proof of that.

There's significant news unfolding on Capitol Hill and elsewhere, but this has caught the attention of the nation, because Tiger Woods, like Michael Jordan, like Tom Brady and a very few others, transcend sports. You don't have to follow golf to know who Tiger Woods is and to be interested in seeing him play.

Same thing was true of Michael Jordan, some little old lady in Omaha didn't know a three pointer from a pick and roll, said I'm going to watch Michael Jordan, didn't even have to know the Bulls were playing. Tom Brady has been in ten Super Bowls and recently won his seventh.

So the combination, just to take these three guys, not to slight anyone else that might make his or her way onto that list, but let's just take as easy examples, Jordan, Woods and Tom Brady, they have the achievements. If you were just looking at them on paper, they have the achievements.

But they also have the moments, the visual images that are set in the minds of the general public, not just avid sports fans, because they had big moments in dramatic fashion on the biggest stages. And this is also important. They are physically compelling. They are physically beautiful.

Think back to Muhammad Ali. Now, Muhammad Ali was perhaps the greatest of all heavyweight champions. That can be debated just from a boxing standpoint but he certainly is in the argument. And he certainly was the first truly global sports figure and he is an immensely important sociologically.

But if all those things were true of Muhammad Ali, all those things, if his boxing record was exactly the same, and if he took exactly the same social stances, I don't mean this to be glib, if he looked like Sonny Liston instead of like the young Cassius Clay and then Muhammad Ali, the story would not be the same. Central casting wouldn't view it the same.

Muhammad Ali was a beautiful figure in a brutal sport. And that's part of what set him apart. After all sports in the modern age is theater. It's not just competition, it's theater. Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Muhammad Ali, a handful of others, great theater as well as great competitors.

BLITZER: Yes, it's not only gripping the United States, people all over the country.

[18:45:02]

It's gripping so much of the world, because he was a world figure, as you know, Bobby, towered not only over the world of golf --

COSTAS: Yeah.

BLITZER: -- but the sports world in general. And seeing this emotional, this wreckage of this car, that has been for all of us who love sports and who have watched Tiger over these years, it has been so personally emotional and heartbreaking.

COSTAS: Yeah, you couldn't take your eyes off of him. And there were detractors. You couldn't really criticize the quality of his play. But there were people who were annoyed that maybe all the attention went to him and others were slighted, maybe when he wasn't at the top of the leader board, the cameras still followed him.

But heck, it's television. That's what the public by and large wanted to say. And at his peak, more often than not, he paid it off. He was always there, either won it or very close to winning it at his big events.

At his peak, I mentioned this again earlier with Jake, you could make a case, and you can always make a very strong case for Jack Nicklaus who I don't know a still-record 18 Majors but remarkably finished second 19 times in Major tournaments. You can always make a case for Jack Nicklaus.

But you could also credibly make this case. At his very best, at the peak, late '90s through a good part of the early 2000s, at that point, maybe for a decade, Tiger Woods was the best golfer ever.

BLITZER: The greatest indeed. How much do you think, and you covered him over the years, you watched him closely, how much do you think Tiger Woods evolved as a person and as an athlete through all of his injuries and all of his personal controversy?

COSTAS: Well, he was humbled. That puts it mildly. He went through not just a scandal but a very public humiliation.

He had to read a statement upon his return to golf. He was sort of scolded by the head of the Masters before he played at Augusta upon his return. And then he was humbled as an athlete because his physical ailments and the time away and maybe the psychological stress, but mostly the physical ailments, took him down from his greatest peak. Plus when he reached that peak, he was in his 20s. Now he matures as a

man, just with the passage of time and also with the events of his life. And by the testimony of those who cover him more closely than I do and fellow players, he's a different guy.

He's more approachable. He's more easygoing. He has greater perspective. Obviously his kids are growing up.

He's been through a lot. And now he's in his mid-40s. So it would be very odd if, considering all that, he hadn't changed quite a bit.

BLITZER: Yeah. No, he has certainly changed over the years. And we heard from Danny Rapaport who covers him, that's his job, to cover him for "Golf Digest," and he says he's approachable, in fact Danny Rapaport I think is with us.

COSTAS: Yeah.

BLITZER: I want to get your thoughts, Danny, as someone who's covered him on a day to bay basis for the past years, what we heard from the fire chief, and from the county sheriff, and the deputy sheriff.

DANIEL RAPAPORT, GOLF DIGEST STAFF WRITER, COVERS TIGER WOODS: Well, te first thing that comes to mind is pure relief that it's not more serious. I think when we saw those images of the car, how far it was from the road, how damaged the front and the back were, your mind didn't go to leg injuries. So it looks like it has been sort of contained to leg injuries, which I think it's hard to say, but that's kind of a victory given how bad it could have been.

But yeah, I've been in this role for 18 months. Tiger's been a partner of Discovery, so I kind of liaise between the company and his camp. He's been generous with his time, approachable, funny, friendly, warm, which probably different than when Bob started covering him, when he was in his 20s and even his early 30s and he was singularly focused on dominating the world and crushing these other professionals.

But, you know, I think the reaction you're seeing today, everyone is so concerned for Tiger the person, because we've seen the father that he's become and how beloved he is not just by his family but by his peers. These guys revere him, and he's been basically an open book to him on tour for 18 months, when these guys come to Tiger, they want tips and stories, he's willing to take on that elder statesman role. So, I think everyone is really pulling for him.

BLITZER: I think you're right. Bob Costas, let me get your reaction. What do you think? Give me a final thought?

COSTAS: Well, I think Dan summed that part of it up very well. I think the concern now is for Tiger as a person, he doesn't have to go past Jack Nicklaus, that once looks like a foregone conclusion. If he stops with 15, his place in history and all the images of him at his incredible best will remain, they'll sustain long after he's done playing golf, if, in fact, he has anymore golf left in him.

[18:50:05] All of that is already in the books and I think the concern for him is that he recover from his injuries and that he live the best possible life he can going forward.

I think what people are mostly concerned with now is the human side of it. The golf side of it, he's already written more than enough chapters.

BLITZER: You're absolutely right. And all of us are hoping he has a full recovery. Forget about the golfer now. We just want him to be healthy going forward.

Bob Costas as usual, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it.

COSTAS: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: I want to bring in Dr. Jeremy Faust, the emergency room physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital right now.

Dr. Faust, thanks so much for joining us.

Let me get your medical analysis on what we heard.

DR. JEREMY FAUST, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL: Wolf, from the second that that collision occurred, the worst was feared, everything that happened since then has gone well in many, many senses.

Look at the car, look at the footage, the steering column, the cage that protects the occupants, that's intact. The crumble zones of a car did their job. The air bag did its job.

And we can see from that kind of damage, the high energy impact was dissipated just as was supposed to occur. Then the deputies show up and determine he needs to go to the right hospital because he needs definitive care of his serious leg injuries.

Now, going to the operating room on this time frame has a very specific implication, that is that he had a real, real risk of nerve damage or internal bleeding in the legs that could threaten one of those limbs, so the recovery that he faces, assuming one of the situations is the reason they took him to the or, the fractures were that bad, the recovery in front of him may be his biggest challenge he ever faced, including anything in his professional or personal life.

BLITZER: And we know he suffered major leg injuries, fractured legs and that was the surgery, but there could have been head injuries, which you can't necessarily immediately determine, right?

FAUST: Well, when he came to the trauma bay of that hospital, they definitely did a head-to-toe assessment in terms of understanding if he had life-threatening injury in that moment. So, you first look at the airway, you look at the breathing, you look at the circulation.

But right after that, you do move across thinking about internal bleeding, including the head. And so, there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that when he went to the OR to have work done on his lower extremity, that they felt that he was stable in terms of any injury he had to the head. So, if there was a little bleeding in the head which we don't know, it wasn't considered first priority which is very good news.

Same is true with any other internal injury that may have been picked up in that trauma bay. They would do ultrasound and they would do a CAT scan. So, then they determine that the real risk here is the lower extremities, those legs.

Is there vascular injury? Is there bleeding that's causing the compartments around your muscles and bones to become dangerously at risk, actually losing tissue, does he need it opened up so the pressure doesn't cause him to have actually nerve or vascular injury, which can become threatening, actually that could become life- threatening and can also threaten the future of your ability to use those limbs.

So the fact he was rushed to the OR says that he was stable from a sense of his life was not in danger in that moment, but they felt that they could not wait to relieve whatever injury was causing the -- what they saw in the emergency room.

BLITZER: Well, how encouraging was it when we heard the deputy sheriff say he could communicate? He mentioned his name. He was -- he was able -- he was fully conscious and there was no evidence of impairment.

That's pretty encouraging, at least the initial reaction, right?

FAUST: That's right. The first thing you want to know is, does the patient have a good airway, and speaking is a good way of demonstrating that. Mental status is good. I mean, he has enough blood profusing to his brain that he can be himself, if you will. So, that's very, very good in terms of his sort of immediate need of the risk of neurological disaster so to speak.

The question then becomes, sort of, are you heading towards a cliff in terms of any internal bleeding or any compromise to the vascular or nerve structures, and that can change in real time. So, you have to do constant assessment. So, he went to that trauma bay, when he went to that ER, there's a multidisciplinary team of surgeons, emergency physicians, and they're going to assess every second along the way what he needs.

But, yes, the initial impression is very good in terms of his brain, but it doesn't necessarily mean much about what's going on with his lower extremities.

BLITZER: Dr. Faust, thank you so much for joining us, and thanks for the critically important work that you do. We are certainly grateful to you.

Andy Scholes, our CNN sports correspondent, is here with us.

So, Andy, wrap this up for us because the world of sports, and beyond the world of sports has been watching and has been -- and we are still anxious to know what's going to happen next.

[18:55:02]

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, I tell you what, if Tiger Woods doesn't play golf again, it will definitely a sad, sad thing because when he is at a golf tournament, I have been to many of them with him and many of them without him.

When Tiger Woods is at a golf tournament, Wolf, it's just different. There's electricity in the air. Like the gallery wants to know how Tiger is doing, most of the time half the gallery is following Tiger Woods. Golf is just a different game because of Tiger Woods.

You know, the Genesis tournament he was hosting over the weekend, Wolf, Max Homa, 30 years old, won the tournament. He was in tears talking about winning, he was so happy. He said he started playing the game because of Tiger Woods. And that is so many people in this world, started playing the game because of Tiger Woods.

So, you know, he's a person that's irreplaceable. He is an icon. You know, he is up there with Michael Jordan, you know, Serena Williams, Tom Brady. Like Bob Costas said, there aren't many like Tiger Woods. He's a presence that can't be filled, the game of golf is so much better when he is out there.

As one of his fellow golfers Jon Rahm earlier today, you can just tell that Tiger Woods is playing because of his aura. I was there in 2019 when he won the Masters, Wolf, one of the greatest come backs in sports history, and I'll tell you this, Wolf, been to many sporting events. I have never seen, you know, grown men cheer for another grown man like people cheer for Tiger Woods.

When he won that 2019 Masters, I saw grown men with tears coming out of their eyes. That's how much he means to people, just his entire story of being great, falling, and coming back once again. So, here, we are all praying, our thoughts and prayers are with Tiger, and hoping he has full recovery, and we hope to see him, you know, doing well soon.

BLITZER: Speaking of grown men following Tiger Woods, I remember, years ago, he was at a tournament here in the D.C. area, congressional country club. I went over there and I watched and I walked and I watched Tiger Woods, I remember it to this very, very day. A really, really amazing situation.

All right. Andy, thank you very, very much.

I want to bring in CNN's Brian Todd right now.

Brian, I understand you have been taking a closer look at Tiger Woods in his own words in recent months, what are you learning?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. Some perspective relates to injuries in the past. And you heard the L.A. County deputy say he couldn't stand on his own power today. Well, that's concerning considering his history of injuries. He's had at least four surgeries on the left knee, including ACL repair. In 2008, he's had an achilles tendon injury. He's had five back surgeries.

You heard Bob Costas mentioned that, including microdiscectomy surgery in 2015 to remove bone fragments around a pinched nerve. Just a couple of days ago, he talked to Jim Nantz of CBS Sports about possible return, despite all those injuries, possible return to the Masters tournament which he won five times. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM NANTZ, CBS SPORTS: So, Tiger, seven weeks from today, final round of the Masters. Are you going to be there?

TIGER WOODS, PRO GOLFER: God, I hope so. I got to get there first.

NANTZ: Do you feel like you --

WOODS: A lot of space on my surgeons and my doctors and my therapists, in making sure that I do it -- I do it correctly and -- because this is the only back I got. So, I don't have much more -- much more wiggle room left there.

NANTZ: But the plan would be maybe to get one more tournament in before that I guess?

WOODS: I don't know what the plan is. The plan is right now is just to go ahead and get the MRI, and see if the annulus sealed and has scarred over, then we can start progressing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: And we have some new video to share with you. This was posted today on Instagram, former NBA star Dwyane Wade posted video on his Instagram today of him and Tiger Woods on the golf course. We believe this might have occurred actually yesterday, but it was posted today. Dwyane Wade and Tiger Woods enjoying themselves on the golf course.

You know, Tiger Woods kind of gave CNN's Patrick Snell some perspective on his long road back from injury in 2018 when he talked about, keeping all those injuries in perspective. Here he was in 2018.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOODS: I'm just blessed, I'm lucky. I am lucky, because it worked out for me. You know, my back was in a pretty bad spot there and to be able to have a back that is not like what it used to be and -- but still be able to somehow figure this out, to figure out a golf swing and a game built on a fixed point in my back, it's been interesting. It hasn't been easy.

But I've been very lucky to have a great team around me. And they worked so hard to give me a chance and also the support I have from them means all the world to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Tiger Woods has been brutally honest about his road back from injury. He admitted also a couple of years ago that he's needed help in managing this pain medication. So, that's another way, Wolf, that we are all rooting for him to do well here.

BLITZER: We hope for the best. We are rooting for him.

Brian Todd, thanks very much.

And to our viewers, thanks for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

CNN's special coverage of the Tiger Woods car accident continues right now.