Tiger Woods had glassy eyes and opioid pills in his pocket when he was arrested by Florida police following a car crash on Friday, and told investigators with the Martin County Sheriff’s office he was distracted by his phone when the crash occurred, according to an incident report.
The golf star said he was looking down at his cellphone and changing the radio station, and didn’t notice that the truck in front of him had slowed down, the report said. He crossed lanes in order to overtake the vehicle and his Land Rover clipped the rear of the trailer attached to the truck, causing his car to roll onto its side, police said.
The truck Woods hit was turning into a driveway not far from where he lives on Jupiter Island, according to the report.
The driver of the truck, who has been identified as 43-year-old Jeromy Bullard, said he noticed a car approaching him at “high speeds” as he was manoeuvring onto the drive, it added.
The truck had about US$5,000 in damage to the rear-left fender and wheel of the trailer, the incident report says.
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Woods, 50, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of driving under the influence of an unknown substance and was described by police as “lethargic” after crawling out of the passenger door of his car.
Woods’ eyes were “bloodshot and glassy,” and his pupils were “extremely dilated,” the report said. Police stated that he was “sweating profusely” in an air-conditioned vehicle and “extremely alert” during their investigation.
The report also noted that Woods stumbled during a sobriety test, where he was described as “limping and stumbling to the right,” and as moving his head from side to side after being told to keep it straight.
He told the officer executing the field checks that he had seven back surgeries and more than 20 leg surgeries, and that his ankle tightens up when he walks.
Woods informed officers he had not been drinking alcohol, but that he takes a “few” prescription pills, which he had consumed earlier in the day, according to the report.
He advised that he takes medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as ibuprofen and Vicodin. Woods had hiccups during the entire investigation, the report noted.
Two white pills, determined by police to be hydrocodone — an opioid prescribed to treat chronic pain — were found inside his left pocket, according to the report.
Woods later submitted to a breath test at the jail but refused to do a urine test, authorities said. He was seen on video leaving the jail late Friday night.
Deputies said Friday they believed Woods was impaired by “some kind” of medication or drug at the time of the crash, but was cleared for driving under the influence of alcohol. There were no drugs or medication found in his vehicle.
The golfer was previously injured in a 2021 crash in Rolling Hills Estates in Southern California.
He was driving at twice the speed limit in a 45-mile-per-hour (74 kilometres per hour) zone when he lost control of his SUV and struck a tree, flipping the car onto its side.
Woods seriously injured his right leg in that crash and underwent multiple surgeries.
The golf star has played 11 tournaments since that 2021 crash, not finishing within 16 shots of the winner on any of the four occasions he completed 72 holes.
He was also arrested on a DUI charge in 2017 when South Florida police found him asleep behind the wheel of his car that was parked awkwardly with damage to the driver’s side. Woods said he had taken a bad mix of painkillers. He later pleaded guilty to reckless driving.
— With files from The Associated Press
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