Tiger Woods was arrested on Friday afternoon on suspicion of driving under the influence after his Range Rover rolled over on Jupiter Island in Florida, with local police alleging the 50-year-old golf star appeared to be under the influence of 'some type of medication or drug' when the vehicle flipped. The Martin County Sheriff's Office said Tiger Woods was not injured in the crash but now faces two misdemeanour DUI charges.
Authorities in Martin County were called at just after 2 pm to reports of a rollover involving Tiger Woods' SUV on Jupiter Island, a heavily protected, affluent barrier island north of West Palm Beach, where he has long kept a home. Photos shared with local media showed the Range Rover on its side after Woods attempted to pass a pressure cleaner truck, swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle, and clipped the back end of the truck's trailer. Deputies took Woods into custody at the scene and transported him to the county jail.
Breaking: Tiger Woods involved in rollover crash on Jupiter Island, deputies say https://t.co/EZ27zriGd4
— WPTV (@WPTV) March 27, 2026
Tiger Woods Crash on Jupiter Island Raises Fresh Questions
Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek told reporters that Tiger Woods was found at the crash site in what he described as a sluggish state. Woods, he said, appeared 'lethargic,' and investigators believed he was under the influence of 'some type of medication or drug' at the time of the collision.
Just after 2 pm, Woods' Range Rover clipped the back end of a trailer on a Jupiter Island road after he swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle, causing the heavy SUV to roll and come to rest on its side. Woods crawled out through the passenger side and escaped without physical injury. Sheriff Budensiek confirmed, as per the New York Post, that Tiger Woods was arrested on suspicion of DUI in connection with the crash and booked into the Martin County jail. Under local procedure, he is required to remain there for eight hours, a standard cooling-off and processing period applied to DUI suspects, regardless of profile.
Breathalyser Clears Tiger Woods of Alcohol as Drug Allegations Loom
According to Sheriff Budensiek, Woods agreed to take a breathalyser test, and the device returned 'triple zeroes,' indicating no measurable alcohol in his system. That result shifts the case away from conventional drink-driving and into the territory of alleged impairment by prescription drugs or other substances.
The sheriff said that, despite agreeing to the breath test, Tiger Woods refused to provide a urine sample when requested. That refusal now sits at the heart of the legal case. Woods faces two misdemeanour counts: DUI with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test. Budensiek addressed the refusal directly, saying Woods 'was cautious not to self-incriminate' and was 'careful with his words', adding that he was 'entitled to refuse that test' under Florida law. Woods' camp has not offered any additional explanation, and for now, only the law-enforcement account has been set out on the record.
A New Rollover for Tiger Woods After 2021 Crash
The rollover on Jupiter Island comes three years after Tiger Woods was seriously injured in a single-vehicle crash in Southern California in 2021. In that earlier incident, he suffered major leg injuries and spent months in rehabilitation. Investigators there ultimately concluded there was no evidence of impairment and described the crash as 'purely an accident.' It was not Woods' first DUI-related incident: in 2017, he was found asleep at the wheel in Palm Beach County and later pleaded guilty to reckless driving, acknowledging he had taken a bad mix of painkillers.
The truck driver involved in Friday's collision was also uninjured. The Martin County Sheriff's Office has not publicly clarified what the precise cause of the crash might have been, or whether road or weather conditions played any role. An unnamed insider quoted by Page Six has claimed that neither Vanessa Trump, whom Tiger Woods has been dating, nor her daughters Kai or Chloe were in the car at the time of the crash. That detail, like the question of what substances, if any, were in his system, remains unresolved.
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