With short, sure strokes of a flathead axe, firefighter Cole Gomoll methodically chopped along the edge of the SUVB次元官网网址檚 broken windshield as golf icon Tiger Woods B次元官网网址� tangled up in his seatbelt and covered in a sheet to avoid shards of glass B次元官网网址� waited in shock inside the mangled wreck.
When Gomoll had cut a long, continuous line to the end of the glass, he and another Los Angeles County firefighter peeled back the windshield. The 6-lb (2.7-kilogram), 36-inch-long (91-centimetre-long) axe went down, and the backboard was swapped in.
Within minutes, the ambulance had raced away, bound for the trauma centre with its famous patient in the back.
It would be hours before the news broke around the world but for Gomoll and the other nine members of Fire Station 106 in Rolling Hills Estates, California, TuesdayB次元官网网址檚 call B次元官网网址� initially reported as a traffic collision with a person trapped B次元官网网址� lasted just 12 minutes.
B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 just another patient,B次元官网网址� Gomoll told The Associated Press on Friday at Fire Station 106.
The 106B次元官网网址檚 firefighters, from Gomoll up to Battalion Chief Dean Douty, stressed that anyone in WoodsB次元官网网址� dire situation would have received the same care from them.
B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 know who was inside the car,B次元官网网址� Capt. Joe Pe帽a said, until a sheriffB次元官网网址檚 deputy told him.
And anyone else would get the same privacy, too B次元官网网址� the firefighters declined to recount the athleteB次元官网网址檚 conversations and condition at the scene to preserve patient confidentiality.
B次元官网网址淗is identity really didnB次元官网网址檛 matter in what we do,B次元官网网址� Capt. Jeane Barrett said.
Even so, those minutes marked a milestone in GomollB次元官网网址檚 career: It was the first time the 23-year-old Marine Corps veteran had performed an extrication like that in the field.
Gomoll joined the fire station, located about a mile (1.6 kilometres) away from the crash site, in August as a probationary firefighter. Just three weeks ago, heB次元官网网址檇 practiced similar moves with one of his superiors, Barrett.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e trained for stuff like this,B次元官网网址� Gomoll said.
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Woods was transferred from Harbor-UCLA Medical Center on Thursday to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for B次元官网网址渃ontinuing orthopedic care and recovery,B次元官网网址� hospital officials said. A Friday night post on WoodsB次元官网网址� Twitter account said he B次元官网网址渞eceived follow-up procedures on his injuries this morning. The procedures were successful, and he is now recovering and in good spirits.B次元官网网址�
Woods had shattered the tibia and fibula bones of his lower right leg in multiple locations. Those injuries were stabilized with a rod in the tibia during a long surgery. Additional injuries to the bones in the foot and ankle required screws and pins.
Woods had been driving a 2021 Genesis SUV on a downhill stretch of road known for wrecks when he struck a raised median in a coastal Los Angeles suburb, crossed into oncoming lanes and flipped several times.
The crash was the latest setback for Woods, who has won 15 major championships and a record-tying 82 victories on the PGA Tour. He is among the worldB次元官网网址檚 most recognizable sports figures, and at 45, even with a reduced schedule from nine previous surgeries, remains golfB次元官网网址檚 biggest draw.
He was in Los Angeles last weekend as the tournament host of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club. Monday and Tuesday had been set aside for him to give golf tips to celebrities on Discovery-owned GOLFTV.
The Los Angeles County sheriff has called the crash B次元官网网址減urely an accidentB次元官网网址� and says drugs and alcohol did not appear to be a factor.
Everyone says Woods is lucky to be alive B次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渋f nothing else, itB次元官网网址檚 a good PSA for wearing a seatbelt,B次元官网网址� Barrett added.
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The first responders did, however, correct previous reports that said theyB次元官网网址檇 used the Jaws of Life and a pry bar called a halligan tool to free the celebrity.
Barrett, a 25-year fire service veteran, and her fellow firefighters know the dangers of the eponymous rolling hills in the area and have cut many drivers out of their twisted cars.
They initially had three plans for WoodsB次元官网网址� SUV: First, try the axe on the windshield. If that didnB次元官网网址檛 work, see if going through the sunroof was a possibility. A third option would be to cut the entire roof off.
The firefighters and paramedics spoke to Woods B次元官网网址� who introduced himself as B次元官网网址淭igerB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� throughout, reassuring him through a hole in the windshield that heB次元官网网址檇 soon be free.
B次元官网网址淵ou can tell he was in pain,B次元官网网址� firefighter Sally Ortega said, but he was still responding to their questions and clearly anxious to get out.
B次元官网网址淟uckily, our first plan was the one that worked,B次元官网网址� Barrett said.
As the ambulance pulled away, Barrett surveyed the SUV to see what lessons her crew might be able to apply to save a future driver.
B次元官网网址淣o car is ever crumpled in the same way,B次元官网网址� she said.
The firefighters later debriefed together around their stationB次元官网网址檚 kitchen table, then ate salads for lunch in a nearby park B次元官网网址� savoring the last of the quiet as the news finally made its way around the world.
