The public was shocked when news emerged that golfing icon Tiger Woods was involved in a car crash near Los Angeles on Tuesday morning. The first responder to the scene was Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy Carlos Gonzalez, who retold the incident to NBC's “Today” show.
According to him, Woods was calm and didn't have an idea how severely injured he was from the accident:
“My first role as a first responder is to assess the passenger, the occupants, of the vehicle and I want to keep them calm as well,” Gonzalez said. “So I ask him, ‘Can you tell me your first name?' He looked at me and he said, ‘Tiger.'”
“And it took me a half second, but I saw his face and I thought, ‘Oh yeah, you’re Tiger Woods,’” he continued. “But of course, I've got a job to do, so I immediately went into assessment questions to gauge what his condition was in and what his mental state was at the time.”
Gonzalez claimed that he didn't have the tools to bring Woods out of the car. He proceeded to keep the golfing legend company as they waited for aid to come their way:
“I kept him talking,” he said. “I asked him basic things to gauge his mental state, like do you know where you are right now? Do you know what day it is? You know, just to see if he was aware of what had occurred.”
According to CNN, Woods was trying to get out of the SUV by himself but failed after he couldn't stand on his legs. He was eventually brought out by the emergency staffers who had to use an ax and a pry bar to free him from the car. Gonzalez cited Tiger was probably in a state of adrenaline and shock at the moment.
The 45-year-old golfer was immediately brought to the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where he received emergency surgery to treat his serious leg injuries. Tiger Woods eventually revealed on his Twitter account that he is already awake and responsive after getting hospitalized.
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