Tiger Woods will face no criminal charges for crashing outside his Florida mansion but has been issued with a careless driving citation, police said on Tuesday.
Woods must also pay a US$164 fine and lose four points from his license — a third of the total needed in a year to be suspended — but the Florida Highway Patrol investigation into Friday’s crash is now closed, police announced.
Spokeswoman Kim Montes said there was insufficient evidence for any greater charges and no claims of domestic violence were involved in the Nov. 27 incident, which remained shrouded in mystery and speculation.
The patrol “is not pursuing criminal charges in this matter nor is there any testimony or evidence to support any charges of any kind other than careless driving,” Montes said.
Woods struck a fire hydrant and a tree when he lost control of his vehicle just outside his home around 2:25am.
“The investigation has determined that Mr Woods is at fault in the crash,” patrol major Cindy Williams said.
Woods did not provide information to police, something he was not required to do under Florida law, and has not revealed details surrounding the crash such as where he was going or why he lost control of the vehicle.
His silence fueled speculation surrounding media reports that Woods was in the vehicle to escape his wife, Elin, after the two argued about a newspaper story that he had an affair with New York night club hostess Rachel Uchitel.
Both Woods and Uchitel have denied the tabloid press reports.
“It’s the most ridiculous story. It’s like they are asking me to comment if there are aliens on Earth,” Uchitel told the New York Post in an interview published on Tuesday.
Uchitel, 33, told the Post she had met Tiger twice and only in her professional capacity as VIP services director at a New York club. She denied reports that she had met with Woods last month when both were in Australia.
But rumors continued to unfold around Woods as his mansion became a bunker, and not the type an errant golf shot might find.
Another report on Tuesday in US Magazine quoted a 24-year-old Los Angeles waitress saying she and Woods had a 31-month-long affair beginning in April, 2007, and that she had voice mails and more than 300 text messages as proof.
According to the magazine, Jaimee Grubbs said she was 21 when she was approached by Woods at a Las Vegas nightclub, on April 13, 2007 — which would have been two months before the birth of his first child.
The magazine said the meeting “progressed into a clandestine on-and-off affair” that lasted nearly three years and included hundreds of texts.
“I hope he can forgive me for doing this and I know he probably can’t,” Grubbs is quoted as saying. “Whatever happens with Elin, I hope Tiger and I can reconnect and remain good friends.”
Grubbs recently appeared on VH1’s reality series Tool Academy.
While the media storm is unlikely to die down soon, the end of the police probe will bring some respite to the 14-time major champion, who is not due to play again and have to face the hordes of reporters until next year.
There has been media speculation that Elin, a Swedish former model, confronted him over Uchitel and chased him with a golf club, smashing in the rear windows of the car as he tried to flee, causing him to lose control.
Bill Sharpe, an attorney for Woods’ neighbor Linda Adams and her family, said on Tuesday that the golfer’s injuries looked to be from a car accident rather than a domestic dispute.
“The scratches on his face were consistent with someone who maybe was in a minor car accident and hit his head on the windshield,” Sharpe said. “None of his injuries looked like he was beat up by his wife.”
Sharpe said Adams found Elin kneeling beside Woods and upset over his injuries, saying she asked them to call police and medical personnel.
“Mrs Woods’ attitude was consistent with her being concerned about her injured husband,” Sharpe said. “Mrs Woods was trying to help him. Mrs Woods was worried about her husband.”
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