REVEALED: Tiger was 'agitated' and rushing to meet NFL stars Drew Brees and Just

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REVEALED: Tiger was 'agitated' and rushing to meet NFL stars Drew Brees and Justin Herbert for GolfTV before crash that shattered his leg: Footage emerges of him driving to LA country club seconds before rolling his car

* Tiger Woods is 'awake, responsive and recovering' in hospital after a crash in LA that shattered his right leg
* He was travelling from a five-star resort to country club when he lost control of his SUV in accident black-spot
* Police say 45-year-old rolled his car 'several hundred feet' and firefighters had to cut him out of the wreckage
* Surgeons say he splintered his right shin and calf bones and they have inserted a metal rod, pins and screws
* Man who saw him leave the resort says he was 'agitated', 'took off fast' and nearly hit another car
* He was on his way to Rolling Hills Country Club to meet with NFL players Drew Brees and Justin Herbert
* They were due to film for GolfTV at 7.30am; sources say Tiger was rushing after leaving the hotel late 
* His girlfriend Erica Herman is with him now at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where he is recovering 

Tiger Woods was rushing to meet NFL stars Drew Brees and Justin Herbert at a golf club where they were due to film for GolfTV when he crashed on Tuesday morning and shattered his right leg.

Woods rolled his Genesis GV80 at 7.12am on Tuesday morning, less than 15 minutes after speeding out of the Terranea Resort in Ranchos Palos Verdes, where witnesses said he seemed 'impatient' and eager to get on the road.

He was on his way to the Rolling Hills Country Club, 10 miles away, where he was due to meet New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and L.A. Chargers' quarterback Justin Herbert to film a show for GolfTV. They were due to meet at 7.30am and the drive ordinarily takes around 20 minutes.

Sources told FOX News that he was late leaving the hotel after having to wait longer than expected to get his car from the valet. He was picked up by road cameras driving safely, within the speed limit of 45mph at at 7.05am.

The crash site is a known problem area, according to sheriffs who said on Tuesday they have seen people fly down the road at almost twice that speed. The exact spot where he crash is at a point in the road where it widens and is downhill. The sheriffs said people tend to put their foot on the gas prematurely without factoring in that their speed will naturally increase.  There is a gravel runaway ramp after it to slow people down and there's also a net in the central median to try to stop out-of-control cars from rolling over onto the other side of the road.

It's unconfirmed what speed Tiger was traveling at or what exactly caused him to crash but he plowed through the central reservation, rolled several times and ended up on a grassy verge on the other side of the road.

Initially, sheriffs said they had to use the jaws of life to pry him from his vehicle. They later confirmed that they didn't, and that firefighters were able to get him out on their own but they said he was 'lucky to be alive'.

Tiger was taken to the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center to undergo surgery to his legs. He suffered open fractures on his tibia and fibula - where the bone splinters into two or more pieces and comes through the skin - and had a rod inserted in his tibia, with his foot and ankle 'stabilized with a combination of screws and pins'.

On Tuesday night, he was conscious, sitting up and responding to his loved ones. His girlfriend Erica Herman is with him at the hospital, as is his agent Mark Steinberg. It's unclear when he will be released from the hospital, or if his children and ex-wife are there.

The crash occurred when Woods was driving at a 'greater speed than normal,' LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said at a press conference on Tuesday.

[The vehicle] crossed the center divider, to the point that it rested several hundred feet away so obviously that indicates they were going at a relatively -- a greater speed than normal.

'However, because it is downhill, it slopes and it also curves. That area has a high frequency of accidents. It’s not uncommon,' he said.

He added that while the front end of the car was 'totally destroyed', the interior was 'more or less intact'.

After the crash, a neighbor phoned 911.

Deputy Sheriff Carlos Gonzalez was first on the scene.

He told Today on Wednesday morning that he did not recognize the famous golfer when he arrived, and that he just saw 'eyes' when he peered through the window.

'I don't think he was aware of how gravely he was injured at the time. It could be a mixture of adrenaline, it could've been shock. 

'Again it was very quick, the moment that I arrived from the moment that he rolled over, so I don't know if he had time to fully assess his injuries,' he siad.

Woods was wearing his seatbelt. Initially, it was claimed by the sheriff's department that Woods was pried from the wreckage by the jaws of life.

Woods was wearing his seatbelt. Initially, it was claimed by the sheriff's department that Woods was pried from the wreckage by the jaws of life.

The fire department later clarified that they used an axe to break him free.

Oliver Konteh, who is part of a TV crew filming show 'Grown-ish' at the five-star Terranea Resort where Woods was staying, said he saw the athlete get into his $50,000 Genesis GV80 SUV shortly before 7am as he headed to the Rolling Hills Country Club - where he was due to tee off with Drew Brees at 7.30am. He had been loaned the car by Genesis while hosting the PGA Genesis Invitational over the weekend.

Konteh said Woods was blocked for a short time by another vehicle that was unloading luggage, and by the time he left he looked 'agitated and impatient'.

He told TMZ that Woods 'took off fast' and almost hit another car belonging to the 'Grown-ish' director as he left the parking lot, just after 7am.

A front door camera then captured Woods driving at normal speed around 7.05am along Hawthorne Boulevard, around five miles south of the spot where he would later crash.

Anish Mahajan, chief medical officer at the hospital, said Woods suffered open fractures of his tibia and fibula - where the bone splinters into two or more pieces and comes through the skin - and had a rod inserted in his tibia, with his foot and ankle 'stabilized with a combination of screws and pins'.

Muscles surrounding the bones were cut to relieve swelling, Mahajan said, describing the injuries as 'significant'.

Experts say he is facing a long road to recovery and was lucky that he didn't have to have the right leg amputated.

Dr. Joseph Patterson, an orthopedic trauma surgeon at Keck Medicine of USC in Los Angeles, said injuries like those sustained by Woods are among the most common seen in hospital emergency rooms.

Patterson didn’t treat Woods and wouldn’t comment specifically about the golfer’s injuries but said the risk of infection is extremely high for patients with open fractures.

'Tissue can be exposed to bacteria, dirt and clothing. The outcomes can be a lot worse if that tissue gets infected, Patterson said.

'As if his body hasn’t endured enough. I just hope he can get out of the hospital after recovery and he can still play with his kids and have a normal life,' Jon Rahm, the No. 2 player in the world, said from the Workday Championship in Florida.

He did not say what Woods' prognosis is, or whether he will be able to play golf again. Girlfriend Erica Herman is thought to be at the 15-time major winner's bedside. 

Police said Woods did not appear to be under the influence at the time of the crash but that blood tests will be carried out as part of an investigation due to last 'weeks'.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9294973/Agitated-Tiger-Woods-running-late-meet-New-Orleans-Saints-quarterback-Drew-Brees.html

[fjaz1]

Wouldn't be surprised