Golf legend Tiger Woods pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges of careless and reckless driving stemming from a rollover crash in Florida in March.
Woods, a 15-time major champion, had his driver’s license suspended for five years following the plea at the Martin County Courthouse in Stuart, Florida.
“If you were to drive for any reason at all you would go immediately back to jail,” Judge Darren Steele told Woods during the brief hearing.
Woods had initially been charged with the more serious offence of driving under the influence, but prosecutors dropped that charge under a plea agreement that saw him plead guilty to the lesser charges of careless and reckless driving.
The crash occurred on March 27 when Woods’ vehicle clipped a truck pulling a trailer and flipped onto its side while he was attempting to pass on a residential road.
Authorities determined that Woods had not been drinking alcohol but concluded that he appeared to be impaired at the time of the incident.
Woods, who has undergone several back operations as well as surgeries for serious leg injuries sustained in a 2021 car crash in California, was found with two pills containing the opioid painkiller hydrocodone in his possession.
He refused to provide a urine sample for analysis and was subsequently charged, jailed and released on bond.
Following the crash, Woods travelled outside the United States to seek treatment at an inpatient facility, reportedly in Switzerland.
Source: AFP
