Sleeping pills – the ‘culprit’ that caused Tiger Woods to crash?

It was the third time that Woods had been in a traffic accident.

In the US, the Ambien packaging warns a host of side effects including the possibility of “driving while sleeping” – the phenomenon of controlling the car but not fully awake and not remembering the previous sequence of actions.

The American Coalition Centers for Detox Center website lists the side effects of Ambien, physical: including tachycardia or arrhythmia, vomiting, double vision, cramps, and cognition: including memory loss, loss ability to concentrate, depression, restlessness, lethargy, or having nightmares, sleepwalking.

“Scientific studies in the driver world show that using Ambien is accompanied by the phenomenon of forgetting, even though still interacting with the surrounding environment. So the current circumstances in the Tiger’s accident may be related to this factor”, Rami Hashish – Director of the National Biomechanics Research Institute mentioned above USA Today. He specializes in analyzing the cause of traffic accidents.

Jonathan Cherney is a specialist in accident scenes in Southern California. With his own experience and knowledge, he identified Woods’ case as “a case in point for falling behind the wheel because of ‘a curve accident and the car going straight and Woods reacting slowly’. Cherney looked at the scene and saw no brake or change direction due to steering.

Woods has a history of using Ambien.

In the early morning of May 29, 2017, the police patrol discovered a black Mercedes parked right on the road, the brake light was on and the priority lamp was still flashing. The policeman approached and found the driver sleeping behind the wheel. When he was awakened, the driver did not know where he was and admitted he took several drugs, including Ambien. And the driver of the Mercedes is Tiger Woods. These details are recorded and attested from the police taking the bow.

In this case, Woods was charged with driving using drugs with Ambien test results. He received a year of probation. After that, Woods was put on a two-week rehab regimen. “I have self-treated back pain and sleep disturbances. And it was a mistake not to seek specialist advice,” the official statement quoted Woods as about the 2017 case.

In 2009, the Florida police took over Woods’ traffic incident. Meanwhile, they found Woods unconscious and snoring in a Cadillac Escalade SUV. It crashed into a tree and fire hydrant, tearing his lips and dislocation.

In this case, the police do not have enough facilities to request more information about the applicant’s health. As a result, Woods was fined $ 164 for careless driving. Later, Woods also confessed to using Ambien. However, he did not directly answer Ambien’s role in the accident at the media meeting.

Before Masters 2010, the media reminded Ambien when he met Woods. “For four knee operations, I used it. Last year, too, because of a hamstring tear. And when my dad was sick, I also used Ambien. It also helped me sleep after he died,” said Woods.

Woods co-takes several powerful painkillers, sedatives, and anesthetics in back and knee surgery. In 12/2020, he had the fifth vertebrae surgery. Including his career since 1996, Woods has 10 times on the operating table and half of that on the left knee. After a recent emergency surgery in Los Angeles, relatives worry that he is reliant on prescription drugs again.

“We cannot rely on our history and refer to someone,” replied local police station John Schloegl when USA Today request an explanation of not applying for a Woods test order. He also said that the rescue team arrived and Woods reacted when touched. The problem, however, was not that Woods was awake from the curb, but whether Woods was awake when the car crashed into the median.

On February 23, the Los Angeles police received the news of the overturn. Deputy Fort Carlos Gonzales arrived at the scene and found Woods stuck behind the wheel, seated in seat belts, airbags that had opened up, including the position of the driver’s seat. Then he said Woods still answered the fundamental questions.

The police’s preliminary conclusion showed that the car rushed into the median strip, hit two traffic signs and a small tree, then crossed to the opposite lane, down the curb, and then rolled many rounds before stopping in the position of turning over to the driver’s seat. It was about 120 meters from the original point of impact. The vehicle does not leave a brake mark, faster than normal in the speed-restricted area of ​​72 km / h. This is a curved, steep, accident-prone section of which there have been several deaths.

But in a statement made by the local police, a witness living near the scene said that when he heard the crash, he went to the overturn and asked a few questions, but the victim did not answer. This document is transferred to the court and is a procedure for the police to be ordered to inspect the vehicle’s black box. It also mentioned that Woods was bleeding from a torn face and chin, but not a head injury.

The police have received the black box but have not released the data inside. The fact is that the airbag can cause a face injury, but will protect the head if the seat belt is combined.

Through scene information released by the police, including the loss of driving in Woods, experts did not rule out the possibility that Woods fell asleep behind the wheel of a Genesis SUV. However, the car is equipped with camera drowsiness warning, collision alarm and active maneuvering system.

As for the confrontation with the investigating staff in the hospital, Woods claimed he could not remember anything and the steering.

Meanwhile, station chief Alex Villanueva confirmed that Woods was driving in good weather, and that the incident was a pure accident. He said Woods showed no signs of physical instability due to biological effects and did not have the support needed to get a blood test order – screening for drugs, alcohol and other drugs. But without it, USA Today Sports concludes the difficult investigation is comprehensive and thorough.

Quoc Huy synthetic