Jupiter Island (USA), Mar 28: Tiger Woods’ arrest Friday for a car crash in Florida was at least the fourth auto-related incident involving the golfer and the second in which he was charged with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Woods showed signs of impairment and was arrested at the scene of the crash in which he struck another vehicle and rolled his Land Rover not far from his home on Jupiter Island, authorities said. He did a Breathalyzer test, which came out negative, but refused to take a urine test. Neither Woods nor the person in the other vehicle were injured, Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said.
Woods was charged Friday with driving under the influence with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test, both misdemeanors.
The first DUI charge
Woods was charged with driving under the influence in 2017 when south Florida police found him asleep behind the wheel of his car with the engine running. It was parked in a traffic lane and had damage to the driver’s side.
Woods said he had taken a mix of prescription painkillers and had a bad reaction.
He pleaded guilty to reckless driving in 2017 and agreed to complete a first-time DUI offender program to stay out of jail. He received a year of probation, a small fine and community service.
California crash nearly costs Woods his leg
In February 2021, Woods survived a rollover crash in which his SUV ran off a coastal road in Los Angeles County at a high speed, leading to multiple leg and ankle injuries.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Woods was driving between 84 and 87 miles per hour (135 to 140 kilometers per hour) on a winding road with a speed limit of 45 miles per hour (72 kilometers per hour) when he crashed. No charges were filed.
Doctors said Woods shattered the tibia and fibula bones of his lower right leg in multiple locations. Those injuries were stabilized with a rod in the tibia. Additional injuries to the bones in the foot and ankle required screws and pins.
Woods spent three months immobilized — a makeshift hospital bed was set up in his Florida home — before he could start moving around on crutches and eventually walk on his own. He said the idea of amputating his right leg “was on the table.”
He did not play on the PGA Tour that year but returned to the Masters in 2022.
Fire hydrant collision
Woods ran out of his home in Orlando, Florida, on Nov. 27, 2009, and drove his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant and a tree in his neighbor’s yard about 2:30 a.m., authorities said.
That came two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging Woods had been seeing a New York nightclub hostess, and that they recently were together in Melbourne. The Windermere police chief at the time said officers found Woods lying in the street with his then-wife, Elin Nordegren, hovering over him.
The chief said Nordegren told officers she was in the house when she heard the crash and “came out and broke the back window with a golf club.” Woods had lacerations to his upper and lower lips, and blood in his mouth. (AP)
