What’s Tea? Tiger Woods’ Rollover Car Crash Results in DUI Arrest, Follows a History of Suspected DUI and Car Crashes
- Chinyere Ibeh
- 9 minutes ago
- 3 min read
The golf champion found himself in cuffs for suspicion of driving under the influence.
Tiger Woods was arrested on Friday (Mar. 27) for suspicion of DUI following a car crash near his Jupiter Island home.
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek said Woods was driving a Land Rover on a South Beach road at a high speed. Woods attempted to pass a pickup truck hauling a pressure cleaner, which slowed to turn into a driveway. As he swerved to avoid the truck, Woods’ SUV clipped the back of the trailer — resulting in the Land Rover flipping on its side and sliding down the road.
Woods later climbed out of the passenger’s window to get out of the car, Budensiek said. Neither Woods nor the other driver were not injured in the crash.
The 50-year-old golfer was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test. With the accident happening around 2 p.m. ET, Woods arrived at Martin County Jail at 3 p.m. ET.
He was released on bail at 11 p.m. ET that night, according to Yahoo! Sports. Florida law required Woods to stay behind bars for at least eight before being released, hence the late night release.
“They did several tests on him,” Budensiek said about the arrest. “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.”
Woods’ breathalyser didn’t show any signs of alcohol, though Woods refused to do a urinalysis test for other drugs. Budensiek noted that Woods didn’t want to incriminate himself, being careful with what he did and didn’t say.
It’s unclear how fast Woods was driving. According to the driver of the pickup truck, he saw Woods’ SUV closing in at a high speed. The driver attempted to get off of the road, but wasn’t able to in time due to the narrow residential street.
This is not the first time Woods was suspected of DUI. In 2017, police found him asleep at the wheel in his running car. The car in question had two flat tires with damage to both the front and rear bumpers.
At the time, he admitted to taking “a bad mix of painkillers.” He pled guilty to reckless driving.
In February 2021, he would suffer leg injuries following a car crash outside of Los Angeles. The car flipped over several times, trapping him inside — he later had surgery to deal with his injuries. He spent three weeks in the hospital after the surgery.
Following his release on Friday, New York Post reported that he attempted to sneak out of the back door of the jail to avoid the media. Matthew Olszewski, an Orlando attorney specializing in DUI cases, spoke to the publication about the legal case Woods faces.
“He’s in for a legal dogfight, in my opinion,” Olszewski said. “They’re going to be trying to prove a message and what bigger message to prove than, ‘Even if you’re Tiger Woods, you do this in our county and we’re going to slam you.”
Woods’ aforementioned history with suspected DUIs and car crashes only adds to Olszewski’s sentiment.
The golfer was weighing on whether to return to the PGA Tour at the Masters, which begins April 9. He last participated in the PGA Tour in July 2024 when he missed the cut at the Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland.
It’s unclear at the moment when, and if, Woods will make his return to the sport that he revolutionized.