Tiger Woods will have a charge for driving under the influence dropped later this year, after he takes part in a diversion program. Woods agreed to enter the program Wednesday after pleading not guilty to a DUI charge in a county court.
Woods reportedly accepted a deal to plead guilty to reckless driving stemming from an incident in May. Woods was found sleeping in his car under the influence of a prescription painkiller. Woods claimed he was not driving under the influence and said he was unaware of the side effects of his painkiller.
.@TigerWoods addresses DUI arrest pic.twitter.com/EGDqoXNCKr
— Steve DiMeglio (@Steve_DiMeglio) May 29, 2017
In May, police had Woods take a breathalyzer test and found no evidence of alcohol in Woods’ system. As shown in the dashcam video, however, Woods was visibly clear to be under the influence of some form of medication. Woods has been battling back from surgery after surgery to help his back, so the thought of Woods using some type of painkiller is plausible. Woods’ explanation seemed legitimate, and prosecutors must have agreed to an extent as they agreed to allow the DUI charge to be dropped upon completion of the diversion program. In exchange, Woods agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving.
Woods will be required to spend one year on probation and pay a small fine of $250 and court costs. He will attend a DUI school and perform 50 hours of community service, even though he will not be charged with DUI. On top of that, Woods will be required to attend a workshop with victims of impaired drivers.
The golfing world will continue to monitor Woods as he continues to work himself back into shape to hit the golf course once again, but for now, Woods will have to keep his focus on handling his new legal responsibilities before contemplating when he may return to the golf course again.
[ESPN]
