Rocio Mateos
Tiger Woods was arrested in Florida on Monday, May 29 for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. The golf star broke his silence, claiming that “alcohol was not involved,” but an “unexpected reaction to prescribed medication” was to blame instead.
Woods released a statement on Monday night, explaining, “I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved. What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications. I didn’t realize the mix of medications had affected me so strongly.” He said that he’s totally aware of the severity of his actions and takes full responsibility for them.
.@TigerWoods addresses DUI arrest pic.twitter.com/EGDqoXNCKr
— Steve DiMeglio (@Steve_DiMeglio) May 29, 2017
The athlete was arrested on Military Trail South of Indian Creek Parkway. He was held by the police at 3 a.m. local time. According to some reports, he was held for nearly eight hours, being released at 10:50 a.m. “I fully cooperated with law enforcement, and I would like to personally thank the representatives of the Jupiter Police Department and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office for their professionalism,” he said in the statement.
A police officer had to wake up Woods, who was extremely disoriented
The police report for the arrest says that Woods was found in his Mercedes, asleep at the wheel with the motor running and the right blinker flashing, as well as the brake lights. An officer said that the athlete had to be woken up by an officer.
Woods “had extremely slow and slurred speech,” the report reads. A breath blood alcohol test was administered, and Woods blew a 0.00.
However, he didn’t even manage to explain how he got there in the first place. He told the cops he was “coming from L.A. California from golfing.” But after making that clear, Woods changed the story, even confusing himself as he said that he didn’t know where he was.
The report described Woods as being “sleepy,” and didn’t manage to pass the field sobriety test, like walking in straight line, among other components of the test. “Could not maintain starting position,” the officer wrote. “Missed heel to toe each time. Stepped off the line several times.”
Woods told the officer he was taking a prescribed medication
In the past three years, the 14-time major champ has undergone four back surgical procedures, the last one being in April, because of injuries and damages that plagued him over the course of the last few years.
Since the operation, he has been attending to intense rehab sessions. As part of his treatment, he was taking a prescribed medication. The police report includes the specific medication, listing 4 different drugs under medical conditions: Solarex, Vicodin, Torix and Vioxx. The last one was not taken this year.
Woods, who will not be playing on the PGA Tour this season in order to fully recover and go back to playing whenever he’s ready, was cited for improper parking/stopping, along with driving under the influence citation. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Palm Beach County circuit court on July 5.
