Tiger Woods is in the automotive news for crashing a Cadillac Escalade through a fire hydrant and into a neighbor’s tree at 2:25 a.m., several days before he was scheduled to host his Chevron World Challenge. 

Windermere police chief Daniel Saylor said officers arrived on the scene to find the former Buick spokesman lying in the street with his wife, Elin, by his side. From ESPN: 

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," Saylor 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," Saylor said. "He was in and out of consciousness when my guys got there." (1)

Woods had lacerations to his upper and lower lips and blood in his mouth. The crash knocked him unconscious for nearly six minutes, according to a call report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the Orlando Sentinel reported. 

Airbags did not deploy in the crash due to the low speed at which it took place. From Jalopnik: 

“U.S. regulations require deployment of airbags in crashes at least equivalent in deceleration to a 23 km/h(14 mph) barrier collision, or similarly, striking a parked car of similar size across the full front of each vehicle at about twice the speed.” (2)

How then did Woods manage to run off the road so slowly? The Florida Highway Patrol said alcohol was not involved in the wreck, although the accident remains under investigation. Patrol spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes 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. (1)

Coincidently or not, the accident took place early Friday morning, the day after Thanksgiving, two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging Woods had been seeing a New York nightclub hostess… 

Purely for the sake of speculation, consider how many extramarital affairs result in the guilty person’s car being smashed with a hammer, baseball bat, or whatever other blunt sporting object might be handy in Tiger Woods’ mansion at the time. Cough (golf club). 

"We don't believe it is a domestic issue," Montes said. 

Sources:

(1) http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/news/story?id=4693657
(2) http://jalopnik.com/5414063/tiger-woods-seriously-injured-in-car-crash-near-florida-home
(3) Picture: http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2006/09/tigerenclave.jpg

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