WASHINGTON.- The golf superstar Tiger Woods pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of careless and reckless driving stemming from a car accident in Florida occurred in March, which allows him to avoid a greater penalty.
Woods will have his driver’s license suspended for five years, under the terms of a plea deal that dropped the more serious charge of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
“If for any reason you were to drive, you would immediately go back to jail,” the judge told him. Darren Steele during a brief hearing at the Martin County Courtin Stuart, FL.
The winner of 15 titles grand slam was involved in an accident in March, when the vehicle he was driving collided with a trailer pulled by a pickup truck near his residence in Jupiter Island, Florida.
According to authorities, the agents who responded to the scene concluded that Woods was under the influence of substances and found opioid analgesic medications in his possession.
The former world number one initially pleaded not guilty to minor charges of driving under the influence causing property damage and refusing to submit to a legal test.
Woods told investigators he was looking at his cell phone and changing radio stations when the crash occurred.
Days after the incident, he announced that he would temporarily withdraw from public activity to undergo treatment and focus on his recovery.
Then, a judge authorized him to travel abroad to enter a specialized center, presumably located in Swiss.
Public reappearance
Woods reappeared publicly in June during the Travelers Championship of the PGA Tour.
A month later, the court authorized prosecutors to examine both hospital records linked to his treatment and documentation related to the medications that had been prescribed to him.
The information, however, was restricted to the prosecutors, investigators and experts appointed to the case, in addition to the golfer’s legal team.
Over the past few years, Woods has undergone multiple back surgeries and several leg surgeries as a result of serious injuries sustained in another car accident that occurred in California in 2021.
