MARTIN COUNTY, FLORIDA — Tiger Woods was arrested on DUI charges Friday afternoon after his Land Rover clipped the back of a pressure cleaner trailer on a two-lane residential road on Jupiter Island, flipping his SUV onto its side. The truck driver — who was simply slowing to make a right turn — was uninjured and helped Woods out of the overturned vehicle.
The incident occurred at approximately 2 p.m. near Woods’ home. Woods was driving behind a truck towing a pressure cleaner trailer when the driver slowed and activated his turn signal to turn right into a driveway. Woods attempted to pass, crossed a double solid line into oncoming traffic, and clipped the left rear fender of the trailer at high speed. The SUV flipped onto its driver’s side. No one else was in Woods’ vehicle. Martin County Sheriff Budensiek said Woods had been traveling at “high speeds” on the residential road.
Woods later told the responding deputy that he had been looking at his phone and fiddling with the radio and did not realize the trailer had slowed. The truck driver told deputies that Woods’ SUV must not have seen him.
What Deputies Found
The deputy observed several signs of impairment. Woods appeared lethargic and moved slowly. He sweated profusely and had difficulty performing coordination tests. He had hiccups throughout the investigation. When asked to remove his sunglasses, the deputy noted his eyes were bloodshot and glassy with dilated pupils.
Woods told the deputy he had not consumed alcohol. When asked about prescription medication, he said “I take a few.” During a search, deputies found two white hydrocodone pills in his pocket. Woods agreed to a breathalyzer test that showed no alcohol but refused to provide a urine sample. The deputy concluded that Woods’ normal faculties were impaired and that he was unable to operate a vehicle safely.
AP Photo/Jason Oteri
Woods wore a compression sock on his right knee and appeared to limp and stumble during a field sobriety test. He told the deputy he has had seven back surgeries and more than 20 operations on his leg, and that his ankle seizes while walking.
Sheriff Budensiek described Woods as cooperative but said “he’s not trying to incriminate himself.” He also noted that because Woods refused the urine test, investigators may never determine definitively what he was impaired on. “He has a right to refuse that test. There’s a Florida statute which he will be charged with for refusing to take that test, but we will never get definitive results as to what he was impaired on at the time of the crash,” Budensiek said.
The Arrest
Deputies formally arrested Woods just after 3 p.m. Friday. He went to the Cleveland Clinic ER South but refused all medical treatment. Officers then took him to the Martin County Jail, where he was held separately from other inmates. Florida law required him to spend at least eight hours in jail before posting bail. Woods posted $1,150 bail and left custody at approximately 11 p.m. Friday.
He faces charges of DUI with property damage and refusal to submit a breath test, as well as additional misdemeanor charges. On Tuesday, Woods entered a written not-guilty plea and plans to waive his appearance at an arraignment hearing scheduled for April 23.
Context and Prior Incidents
The crash came just days before Masters week. Woods has been recovering from back surgery in hopes of playing in this year’s Masters, scheduled for April 9-12 at Augusta National Golf Club. He still has not decided whether to compete. Woods is also scheduled to appear in Augusta on April 5 to unveil The Loop course at Augusta Municipal Golf Course, which he designed. His TGR Foundation is also opening a STEM learning lab for kids in Augusta.
This is not Woods’ first run-in with law enforcement or vehicles. In 2017, south Florida police found him asleep behind the wheel of a parked car with the engine running. He pleaded guilty to reckless driving after admitting to a bad reaction from a mix of prescription painkillers. In February 2021, Woods survived a rollover crash in Los Angeles County after driving between 84 and 87 mph in a 45 mph zone, nearly losing his right leg. No charges were filed. In November 2009, Woods drove his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant and a tree outside his Orlando home in the early morning hours, sustaining lacerations to his lips.
President Donald Trump responded to the latest incident. “I feel so badly he’s got some difficulty. There was an accident, and that’s all I know. A very close friend of mine, he’s an amazing person, amazing man, but some difficulty,” Trump said.
📸 Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.
