Tiger Woods has been fined and suspended from driving for five years after entering a plea agreement to a reckless driving charge, following March’s rollover car crash in Florida. The 15-time major champion was arrested in March and spent eight hours in jail, before being bailed, after the Land Rover he was driving rolled over in a collision with a pick-up truck towing a trailer. Woods previously entered a written plea of not guilty via his lawyers to charges of driving under the influence, property damage and a refusal to submit to testing.
The former world No 1 attended a plea conference hearing at Martin County Courthouse in Florida on Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving and the refusal to submit an unlawful test. Judge Darren Steele accepted the plea agreement, which amended the original DUI charge and resolved the refusal to submit a test charge, while Woods also entered a plea to a careless driving citation. On the reckless driving second offence charge, Woods received a $1,000 (£748) fine and a five-year driving suspension.
On the second count, the refusal to submit to a lawful test, he received a $500 (£370) fine. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player "There are no exceptions. If you were to drive for any reason at all, you would go immediately back to jail," Steele told the court.
Woods was ordered to pay the minimum fine for the careless driving citation, which also carries a five-year driving ban to run concurrently with the suspension on the reckless driving charge. The 50-year-old said little during the hearing. He arrived at the courthouse with Vanessa Trump, his girlfriend and President Donald Trump's former daughter-in-law, who sat behind him during a hearing that lasted under 10 minutes.
He was also fined court costs, according to court documents. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but means the accused will offer no defense. The plea is treated as a conviction in the criminal justice system.
The police report from the March 27 crash said deputies found two hydrocone pills - used to treat pain - in his pocket, and he showed signs of impairment. It described Woods' movements as slow and lethargic when speaking to deputies at the scene. The report also said Woods appeared to be sweating, his eyes looked glassy, and his pupils were dilated.
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