Tiger Woods charged with drunk driving after traffic accident
The Martin County Sheriff’s Office gave the media an update on Tiger Woods, who was involved in a car accident on Jupiter Island, Florida.
Tiger Woods told police he looked down at his cell phone and changed the radio station before his SUV rolled over in a car crash in Florida on March 27.
New details were revealed when the Martin County Sheriff’s Office released Woods’ arrest affidavit on March 31st. Woods, a 15-time major golf champion, was also described as “sweating profusely” when he spoke to investigators after the accident.
The affidavit obtained by USA TODAY Sports also included the arresting officer’s finding that Woods’ eyes were “bloodshot and glassy” during various field sobriety tests. In addition, sheriff’s deputies found two small white pills in Woods’ pants pocket. The pill was later determined to be hydrocodone, a powerful opioid used to treat severe chronic pain.
Woods, 50, was charged with driving under the influence and failing a field sobriety test following a two-vehicle crash on his Jupiter Island home.
Neither Woods nor the driver of the other vehicle were injured in the accident.
Martin County Jail officials told the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Network, that Woods was taken into custody after the accident and released later that night on $1,150 bail at 11:11 p.m.
What is hydrocodone? About the pills police found on Tiger Woods
Hydrocodone is a powerful painkiller that belongs to a group of medications called opioid analgesics.
According to the Mayo Clinic, long-term use of hydrocodone “can become habit-forming and cause mental and physical dependence.”
The most common side effects of taking hydrocodone (often prescribed under the brand name Vicodin) are dizziness and light-headedness. Patients are regularly advised to avoid driving or operating dangerous machinery if they are unsure how their medication will affect them.
According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, in 2024, 3.4 million people ages 12 and older in the United States reported misuse of hydrocodone in the previous year.
Tiger Woods’ traffic accident history
The rollover crash on Jupiter Island, Florida, marks the fourth time that golfer Tiger Woods has been involved in a dangerous accident with his own car.
- March 27, 2026: Woods was involved in a two-vehicle crash near his home in Florida, which caused him to clip a trailer from behind and overturn his Land Rover. He was charged with driving under the influence and failure to submit to a field sobriety test.
- February 23, 2021: Woods was behind the wheel in Los Angeles County when his SUV failed to negotiate a curve in the road, veering off the median into oncoming traffic, hitting a tree and overturning. Woods was found unconscious with a broken leg. He was not charged and no traffic citation was issued.
- May 29, 2017: Woods was found by police around 3 a.m. in Jupiter, Florida, asleep at the wheel of a black Mercedes with the brake lights on and the turn signal flashing. According to a toxicology report, he had five drugs in his system at the time: Vicodin, Dilaudid, Xanax, Ambien and THC. He was charged with driving under the influence and pleaded guilty to reckless driving.
- November 27, 2009: Woods was driving his Cadillac Escalade when he crashed into a hedge and a fire hydrant outside his Windermere, Florida, mansion. A neighbor reported seeing Woods unconscious and snoring, according to a police report. He was charged with careless driving and fined $164. The incident occurred less than two days after what would become a full-blown sex scandal centered around Woods was first publicly exposed.
