Golf legend Tiger Woods was “sweating profusely” and had pills in his pocket when he was arrested for DUI after a rollover crash in Florida last week, according to a new probable cause affidavit.
The affidavit released by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday is revealing new details on the Jupiter Island crash that led to the 50-year-old’s arrest.
The crash happened around 2 p.m. Friday when Woods, who was driving a Land Rover, tried to go around a pickup truck pulling a trailer, the affidavit said.
Woods went into oncoming traffic over the double solid line to go around the truck but hit the trailer, lost control and flipped his SUV, the affidavit said.
Authorities said Woods was able to crawl out of the Land Rover, and neither he nor the driver of the pickup were injured.
The crash caused about $5,000 in damage to the trailer, the affidavit said.
Woods told a deputy he had looked down at his cell phone and didn’t realize the truck had slowed down, the affidavit said.
“I inquired about the collision, to which Woods stated he was looking down at his cell phone and changing the radio station and did not notice the vehicle in front of him had slowed down,” a deputy wrote in the affidavit.
The deputy wrote that while speaking with Woods they “observed several signs of impairment” and began a DUI investigation.
Woods was “sweating profusely” while sitting in the back of a vehicle with cool air flowing, his “movement was lethargic and slow” and he was “extremely alert during the investigation” but the deputy wrote they were unable to look at his eyes since he was wearing sunglasses, the affidavit said.
Woods agreed to perform field sobriety exercises but he was limping and appeared to have a leg injury, and when he was asked if he has any medical conditions Woods said he’s had seven back surgeries and over 20 operations on his leg, the affidavit said.
A deputy asked Woods to remove his sunglasses and the deputy wrote in the affidavit that his eyes were “bloodshot and glassy” and his pupils were extremely dilated.
Woods was asked if he’d had any alcohol and he replied “none,” and was asked if he consumed any prescription medication and he said “I take a few,” the affidavit said.
Woods said he took prescription medication in the morning but said he hadn’t had any illegal substances, the affidavit said.
The golfer was given a test to follow the tip of a pen but the deputy noted a “lack of smooth pursuit in both eyes” and wrote that Woods continuously moved his head from side to side and had to be told several times to keep his head straight, the affidavit said.
Woods performed other tests including touching the tip of his nose but apparently not good enough for the deputy.
“Based on my observations of Woods, how he performed the exercises and based on my training, knowledge, and experience, I believed that Woods normal faculties were impaired, and he was unable to safely operate the motor vehicle,” the deputy wrote in the affidavit.
Woods was told he was under arrest and searched, and two white pills were found in his pants pocket that “identifying marks revealed to be Hydrocodone,” the affidavit said.
He was brought to jail and agreed to provide a breath test that showed no alcohol but when he was requested to give a urine test he refused, the affidavit said.
Woods was taken to a hospital and medically discharged then brought back to jail. He later bonded out.
He faces charges of DUI with property damage and refusing to submit to a DUI test. Court records filed Tuesday showed he’s pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Friday’s incident was the fourth time Woods has been involved in a car crash. He was seriously injured in another crash in February 2021 that shattered his right leg and ankle, which Woods has said nearly led to a decision to amputate.
He was also arrested for DUI in Jupiter back in 2017 and later pleaded guilty to reckless driving in the incident.
