New details emerge from DUI crash

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office released additional details about Tiger Woods’ latest DUI arrest on Tuesday morning, offering a glimpse of Woods’ explanation for the crash and how officers observed it that afternoon.

According to the police report, which GOLF.com obtained, Woods said he was coming from his home nearby, looking at his phone and changing the radio station at the time of the accident. He didn’t notice that the truck in front of him was slowing down to turn onto a road. Woods crossed a double hard line (no pass) to overtake the pickup truck and the trailer it was pulling, clipping the rear of the trailer, flipping his car onto its driver’s side and skidding to a stop.

After investigating the crash, Martin County Sheriff’s Deputy Tatiana Levenar noticed that Woods was “sweating profusely” and thought he was “lethargic and sluggish,” he was alert throughout the investigation. Levenar stated that Woods walked with a limp but also stumbled. He explained to Levenar that he had had seven operations on his back and “over twenty operations” on his leg, which was covered in a compression sleeve. After searching, officers found two white pills in Woods’ left pants pocket that were marked as Hydrocodone, an opioid commonly used to treat pain.

Woods stated that he had not consumed any alcohol or any illegal substances, but admitted that he takes “several” types of medication and had taken prescribed medication that morning. Numerous medications were redacted from the report. He was seen as a “talker” and had hiccups all the time.

Levenar put Woods through multiple field sobriety tests, which the police report detailed. One of those tests was a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, a test where Woods was asked to follow the tip of a pen with his eyes as it shifted position in front of his face. Deputy Sheriff Tatiana Levenar said Woods’ eyes were “bloodshot and glassy” and that his pupils were “extremely dilated” and that there was a “lack of smooth pursuit” in both eyes. Woods moved his head back and forth, the report said, despite being instructed to keep his head straight several times.

He administered the Finger to Nose, Palm Pat, and Hand Coordination tests, with varying degrees of success and failure, after which Levenar reported that she believed Woods’ “normal faculties were impaired and he was unable to safely operate the vehicle.” Shortly after 15:00 local time, Woods was arrested.

That afternoon, Woods was given a breathalyzer test, which twice came back with zero signs of alcohol. He refused to submit to a urine test, which is his right, but there is a misdemeanor charge in the state of Florida. He was also transported at one point to a local clinic ER where he refused any medical treatment. He then spent at least eight hours in jail before being released on bail around midnight. He was accused of “Driving a vehicle under the influence of property damage and refusing to submit to a blood alcohol test.”

Woods has a history of traffic accidents. In May 2017, he was arrested for DUI in the early morning in Jupiter, Fla., when local authorities found him asleep at the wheel. Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department published a report that listed five different drugs in Woods’ system, but zero traces of alcohol.

In February 2021, Woods was involved in an accident in southern California around 7 a.m. but showed “no signs of damage,” according to local authorities. He suffered severe lower body injuries that day, which has made it difficult for him to compete in the years since.