After crash, Tiger Woods told deputy he was 'talking to the president,' body camera shows

After crashing his SUV past week successful Florida, Tiger Woods took retired his telephone and told a deputy, “I was conscionable talking to the president,” according to assemblage camera footage released Thursday showing Woods' apprehension connected a DUI charge.

The telephone speech was not captured connected video, but Woods could beryllium heard saying, “Thank you truthful much,” arsenic helium hung up and the lawman approached. It wasn't wide if Woods was referring to President Donald Trump, whose erstwhile daughter-in-law, Vanessa Trump, is dating Woods.

Shortly aft the golfer's March 27 arrest, Trump was asked astir Woods and told reporters: “I consciousness truthful badly. He’s got immoderate difficulty. Very adjacent person of mine. He’s an astonishing person. Amazing man. But, immoderate difficulty.”

The White House did not instantly respond to a petition for remark connected whether Trump spoke to Woods aft the crash.

The footage besides shows however Woods appeared to beryllium astonished arsenic helium was handcuffed aft failing a sobriety trial and a video from the backmost of the patrol car shows the handcuffed golfer hiccupping, yawning and repeatedly appearing to motion disconnected during the 15-minute ride.

Woods told authorities helium was looking astatine his telephone and changing the vigor presumption erstwhile his speeding Land Rover clipped the backmost of a motortruck and rolled onto its broadside connected a residential roadworthy connected Jupiter Island. No 1 was injured.

“I looked down astatine my phone, and each of a abrupt — boom,” Woods told an serviceman arsenic helium knelt connected a lawn, anterior to his arrest.

Body camera footage shows Martin County Sheriff’s Deputy Tatiana Levenar past conducting a roadside sobriety trial and telling Woods: “I bash judge your mean faculties are impaired, and you’re nether an chartless substance, truthful astatine this clip you’re nether apprehension for DUI."

“I’m being arrested?” Woods responded.

“Yes, sir,” Levenar said.

After handcuffing Woods, authorities searched his pockets and recovered 2 achromatic pills.

“That’s a Norco,” Woods said aft an serviceman pulled retired the pills, referring to a painkiller that contains acetaminophen and the opioid hydrocodone. Authorities would aboriginal corroborate that Woods was successful possession of hydrocodone.

In the assemblage camera footage, Woods told Levenar that helium had not drunk immoderate intoxicant and that helium had taken “a few” medications earlier successful the day, though Woods’ words are muted successful the released video arsenic helium describes immoderate of the drugs.

At the sheriff’s bureau complex, aft Woods was escorted into the “DUI room” wherever drivers are tested for being nether the influence, Woods said, “I’m not drunk. I’m connected a medicine medication,” according to a supplemental sheriff’s bureau study released Thursday.

Woods, 50, pleaded not blameworthy connected Tuesday to suspicion of driving nether the influence. He posted a connection Tuesday nighttime saying that helium was stepping distant indefinitely “to question attraction and absorption connected my health.”

Woods agreed to a Breathalyzer trial that showed nary signs of alcohol, but helium refused a urine test, authorities said. Under a alteration to Florida instrumentality past year, refusing an officer’s petition to instrumentality a breath, humor oregon urine trial became a misdemeanor, adjacent for a archetypal offense.

During the tract sobriety test, deputies noticed Woods limping and that helium had a compression sock implicit his close knee. Woods explained helium had undergone 7 backmost surgeries and implicit 20 surgeries connected his close leg, and that his ankle seizes up portion walking.

Woods, who was hiccupping during questioning, continuously moved his caput during 1 of the sobriety tests and deputies had to archer him respective times to support his caput straight, according to an apprehension report.

“Based connected my observations of Woods, however helium performed the exercises and based connected my training, knowledge, and experience, I believed that Woods mean faculties were impaired, and helium was incapable to safely run the centrifugal vehicle,” Levenar wrote.

Woods is the astir influential fig successful play and has go arsenic recognizable arsenic immoderate jock successful the world. The archetypal idiosyncratic of Black practice to triumph the Masters successful 1997, helium has captivated play fans with records apt ne'er to beryllium broken.

His injuries person kept him from accomplishing more, including from a 2021 Los Angeles car clang that damaged his close limb truthful severely helium said doctors considered amputation. He has not played an authoritative lawsuit since the 2024 British Open. He was recovering from a seventh backmost country successful October and was trying to instrumentality astatine the Masters, wherever helium is simply a five-time champion.

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Associated Press writer Mike Schneider successful Orlando, Florida, contributed to this report.

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