Tiger Woods was has pled not guilty for driving under the influence after being involved in a rollover car crash on Friday afternoon.
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office said the incident took place on Jupiter Island, in the same town where 50-year-old Woods lives, when his Land Rover clipped a machinery truck and flipped over.
He was assessed by Drug Recognition Experts on the scene and after it was determined that he was “impaired”, with his eyes “bloodshot and glassy”, and he was taken to the county jail for testing.
Woods was released on bail after eight hours in custody but has now entered a plea of not guilty via his lawyers, with an arrest report saying he was looking at his phone and didn’t see the truck he crashed into slow down.
No injuries were sustained in the crash although sheriff John Budensiek was quick to emphasise this “could’ve been a lot worse”. Woods says he is “stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health”.
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Sheriff Budensiek gave a full rundown of the police’s initial investigation into the crash during his press conference.
A truck with a pressure-washing apparatus was driving down South Beach Road shortly before 2pm and when it was turning into a driveway, slowing down, the driver of that vehicle saw a dark-coloured Land Rover coming to overtake him at speed.
The driver tried to edge off the side of the road to avoid a collision but with this being a small two-lane street, there was “no shoulder” for the vehicle to move into.
The driver of the Land Rover, identified as Woods, then swerved at the last minute to himself avoid a crash but clipped the end of the trailer carrying the pressure cleaning apparatus, causing him to list to the side and roll onto the driver’s door before skidding down the road.
“The individual driving that Land Rover was able to crawl out the passenger door of the car and was identified to be Mr. Tiger Woods,” said Budensiek.
After roadside tests by responding officers, Woods was deemed under the influence and arrested. He was observed to be “sweating profusely” while acting “lethargic and slow” with eyes that were “bloodshot and glassy”.
“ Our DUI investigators came to the scene here and Mr. Woods did exemplify signs of impairment,” Budensiek said.
“They they did several tests on him. Of course, he did explain the injuries and the surgeries that he had, We did take that into account, but they did do some in-depth roadside tests.
