Tiger Woods heading to court: changing his plea in car crash case that shocked golf

Tiger Woods heading to court: changing his plea in car crash case that shocked golf

Tiger Woods is due before a Florida judge on Wednesday morning to abandon the not guilty plea he entered after the March rollover crash on Jupiter Island that ended in…

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Woods is expected in a Martin County courtroom at 8:30 a.m. local time, where court documents filed the day before signaled he will change the not guilty plea he entered in March. County Judge Darren Steele will preside over the change-of-plea hearing at the courthouse in Stuart, Florida.

It is not yet public how Woods, 50, will plead. Legal analyst Robert Ellis told CBS12 the filing could signal that a deal has been reached between prosecutors and the defense, though nothing has been confirmed.

The 15-time major champion faces two misdemeanor charges arising from the crash: DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.

Two hydrocodone pills, a 0.00 breath test

The crash happened on 27 March on South Beach Road, Jupiter Island. Woods was driving a Range Rover when he crossed a double solid line to pass a pickup truck towing a trailer. His vehicle clipped the trailer and rolled onto its side. He crawled out uninjured. The other driver was not hurt.

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Deputies reported bloodshot, glassy eyes, dilated pupils, and slow movements at the scene. A breath test returned 0.00 for alcohol, but Woods refused a urine test. Two hydrocodone pills were found in his pocket.

Body-camera footage recorded Woods telling deputies what happened in the moment before impact.

“I looked down at my phone, and all of a sudden, boom,” he said.

The path that 2017 closed off

Weeks after his arrest, Woods posted a written statement on his social media channels.

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“I know and understand the seriousness of the situation I find myself in today. I am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health,” he wrote.

Woods’s 2017 DUI arrest in Palm Beach County was resolved through a diversion program that resulted in a reckless driving conviction. Because he has already used that route, legal analyst Robert Ellis told CBS12, the same option is no longer available.

Douglas Duncan, Woods’s attorney, filed the change-of-plea notice on Tuesday. The hearing is set to open at 8:30 a.m. local time at the Martin County Courthouse in Stuart.

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