Tiger Woods Arrested After Car Crash, Charged with DUI

Golf legend Tiger Woods has been arrested and charged with DUI in the aftermath of a rollover crash on Jupiter Island, Florida.

Woods, 50, was driving his black Range Rover near his home in the area Friday afternoon when he was involved in an accident with another car that left his vehicle on its side in the middle of the road. According to local media reports, there were no serious injuries.

CNN world sports reporter Patrick Snell reported on the accident and called it “another big fall from grace for one of the greatest players ever to play the sport of golf.” Snell said that the Martin County Sheriff’s Office had confirmed that the accident had involved Woods’ vehicle, which clipped a pickup truck towing a small trailer.

Woods was uninjured, added Snell, and had been arrested and was in custody at the Martin County Jail.

CNN played a clip of a press conference held by Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek providing updates on the accident and investigation. Said Budensiek:

They did do some in-depth roadside tests. And when it was determined, he was placed under arrest and taken to the Martin County Jail. At the Martin County jail, and even on scene, we really weren’t suspicious of alcohol being involved in this case. And that proved to be true at the jail.

So Mr. Woods did a breathalyzer test, blew triple zeros. But when it came time for us to ask for a urinalysis test, he refused.

And so he’s been charged with DUI, with property damage, and refusal to submit to a lawful test.

Peter Schorsch, the publisher of Florida Politics, reported that sources in the area told him that Woods was “f*cked up” and possibly under the influence of Percocet, a prescription painkiller.

According to Florida criminal defense attorney Amir Ladan, these charges are all misdemeanors. If a DUI results in serious bodily injury or the defendant had at least two prior DUI convictions, that renders a DUI arrest enhanced to a felony.

State law requires Woods to be held at least eight hours from the time he was booked into jail, Ladan added, because he was arrested on an impairment charge.

Regardless of what happens with the other charges against Woods, he will most likely have his Florida driver’s license suspended for at least a year, said Ladan. Florida statutes impose an automatic one-year driver’s license suspension for a first offense; a second occurrence of a refusal to submit to the test is an 18-month suspension.

In 2009, Woods was driving from his home in Windermere, Florida around 2:30 am when he crashed his Cadillac Escalade SUV into a fire hydrant, a tree, and some hedges. He was ticketed for careless driving.

Woods was arrested near his Jupiter Island home in 2017 when police found him asleep at the wheel of his car with the engine running around 3:00 am ET. He admitted to police that he had taken multiple prescription drugs and not realized how they would interact. He later pleaded guilty to reckless driving, paid a $250 fine, completed 50 hours of community service, and had to abstain from alcohol and submit to regular drug tests during a year of probation.

In 2021, Woods was in a very serious car accident in California that left him hospitalized for multiple major leg injuries. Police said that single-car accident was attributed to excessive speed.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

This is a breaking news story and has been updated.

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!