Tiger Woods pleaded guilty on Wednesday to careless and reckless driving charges stemming from a rollover crash in Florida in March and had his driver’s licence suspended for five years.
“If you were to drive for any reason at all, you would go immediately back to jail,” Judge Darren Steele told the golf superstar during a brief hearing at the Martin County Courthouse in Stuart, Florida.
Woods, 50, initially faced the more serious charge of driving under the influence, but prosecutors dropped it under a plea agreement that required him to plead guilty to the lesser charges of careless and reckless driving.
The 15-time major champion was involved in a road accident on March 27 when his vehicle clipped a truck towing a trailer and overturned while he was attempting to pass on a residential road.
Authorities determined that Woods had not been drinking alcohol but said he appeared to be impaired.
Woods, who has undergone multiple back surgeries as well as operations for severe leg injuries sustained in a 2021 car crash in California, was found carrying two pills containing the opioid painkiller hydrocodone.
He refused to provide a urine sample for analysis and was subsequently charged, jailed and released on bond.
Since the crash, Woods has travelled outside the United States to seek treatment at an inpatient facility, reportedly in Switzerland.
AFP
