Tiger Woods Issues Stunning Plea Months After Car Crash

Tiger Woods pleaded guilty Wednesday to reckless driving in his Florida DUI case, accepting a five-year driver’s license suspension and a $1,000 fine months after initially fighting two misdemeanor charges.

The 50-year-old golf icon smiled during the hearing at the Martin County Courthouse as he changed his plea. Woods had previously pleaded not guilty to DUI with property damage and refusing to submit to a lawful test.

The case stemmed from a March rollover crash on Florida’s Jupiter Island, where authorities said Woods’ Land Rover struck a truck before tipping onto its side.

Woods was allegedly speeding along a beachside residential road with a posted limit of 30 mph before the wreck, according to the arrest report. The collision caused an estimated $5,000 in damage to the truck.

Woods escaped without injuries and told a responding deputy he had been looking down at his phone and adjusting the radio when the crash occurred, the report said.

Deputies said the 15-time major champion appeared impaired at the scene. Woods agreed to take a Breathalyzer test, which detected no alcohol, but refused to provide a urine sample.

He also told investigators he had taken “a few” prescription medications. Police later found two pills in his pants pocket that were identified as hydrocodone, a powerful opioid painkiller, according to the report.

Woods was arrested and charged with driving under the influence. He later announced that he was “stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment” and would “work toward lasting recovery.”

Tiger Woods pleaded guilty to careless driving in his DUI case and faces five years without a driver’s license under the plea deal, after the judge allowed two five-year suspensions to run concurrently instead of stacking into 10 years. pic.twitter.com/dwLQqiCCBL

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He returned to the public eye in June, appearing to introduce the PGA Tour’s plans for a revamped 2028 schedule.

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A press conference was scheduled for 9:30 a.m. ET Wednesday following the plea hearing.

Tiger Woods remains one of the biggest and most influential figures in golf history. He shattered barriers in 1997 when he became the first Black golfer to win the Masters, launching a historic career that transformed the sport and produced 82 PGA Tour victories.

But his remarkable run has also been shadowed by physical problems, prescription painkiller dependence and a string of high-profile crashes. Woods has undergone multiple back and knee surgeries during his career.

In 2021, Woods nearly lost his right leg after a devastating rollover crash outside Los Angeles. He later revealed that doctors had considered amputation because of the severity of his injuries.

Florida police arrested Woods on a DUI charge in 2017 after finding him asleep behind the wheel. Woods said afterward that the incident was caused by an unexpected reaction to a combination of prescription medications.

His driving history also includes a notorious 2009 crash, when his SUV slammed into a fire hydrant and a tree outside his home near Orlando, Florida.

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