Tiger Woods ‘asleep at the wheel’ of stopped car before arrest: police

Tiger Woods ‘asleep at the wheel’ of stopped car before arrest: police

May 30, 2017

JUPITER, Fla. (Reuters) – Former world No. 1 golfer Tiger Woods was asleep at the wheel of a stationary Mercedes-Benz vehicle on a Florida road and did not know where he was, according to a police report released on Tuesday, a day after his arrest on a charge of driving under the influence.

Woods had “extremely slow and slurred speech” after being awoken by a Jupiter police officer, who found the car the golfer was driving stopped in the right lane of the roadway and still running, the report said.

Woods was heading south, away from his Jupiter Island home, before his arrest at about 3 a.m. (0700 GMT) on Monday, according to the report. It said Woods was cooperative but had a hard time walking and keeping his eyes open.

“Woods had changed his story of where he was going and where he was coming from,” the report said, noting at one point he indicated he was returning from a golf trip in California.

The 41-year-old golfer, who underwent surgery in April to relieve lingering back pain, on Monday blamed an unexpected reaction to legal drugs for his arrest and apologized for the incident. Two breathalyzer tests showed Woods’ blood alcohol content to be zero, according to the report.

“I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved,” Woods said in a statement. “What happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications,” he said. “I didn’t realize the mix of medications had affected me so strongly.”

(This version of the story has been filed to correct timing of back surgery in fifth paragraph)

(Reporting by Zachary Fagenson; Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Bill Rigby)