Tiger Woods pleaded guilty on Wednesday to charges of careless and reckless driving stemming from a rollover car crash in Florida in March and had his driver’s licence suspended for five years.
“If you were to drive for any reason at all, you would go immediately back to jail,” judge Darren Steele told the golf superstar during a brief hearing at the Martin County Courthouse in Stuart, Florida.
Woods initially faced the more serious offence of driving under the influence, but that was dropped under the terms of a plea agreement in which he agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charges of careless and reckless driving.
Woods was involved in a road accident in Florida on March 27 in which his vehicle clipped a truck pulling a trailer and flipped on its side while attempting to pass on a residential road.
Authorities determined the 15-time major champion had not been drinking alcohol but found that he appeared to be impaired.
Woods, who has undergone multiple back operations and surgeries on severe leg injuries suffered in a 2021 California car crash, had two pills containing the opioid painkiller hydrocodone in his pocket.
He refused a urine analysis and was charged, jailed and released on bond.
Since the crash, Woods has travelled outside the US to seek treatment at an inpatient facility, reportedly in Switzerland.
Woods made his first public appearance since his arrest at the PGA Tour’s Travellers Championship in June.
The following month, a judge ruled that prosecutors could review Woods’ hospital treatment, as well as the golfer’s prescription drug records. — AFP
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