Tiger Woods - Car Accident Report

[kekchose12]

After Thierry Henry, Tiger!
According to a Gillette executive, Federer is next.

[Kilroy]

A new statement from Tiger
http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/...943337,00.html

[goochy]

A new statement from Tiger
http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/...943337,00.html

Oh Ok then, that clears it all up Woodsy, and will put a stop to all this silly speculation. I'm sure the media will stop pestering you for more details after that disclosure. Oh and refusing to talk to Law Enforcement Officers for 3 days after a RTA involving a 911 call...perfectly normal, I've done it many times myself after popping out for a 2.30 am spin and not getting beyond my driveway

[mpare]

Maybe the circumstances of this accident are such that Tiger is not required under Florida law to answer police questions. If that is so, then silence serves another purpose. It can't subsequently be said that he provided the police with false or misleading information.

Oh Ok then, that clears it all up Woodsy, and will put a stop to all this silly speculation. I'm sure the media will stop pestering you for more details after that disclosure. Oh and refusing to talk to Law Enforcement Officers for 3 days after a RTA involving a 911 call...perfectly normal, I've done it many times myself after popping out for a 2.30 am spin and not getting beyond my driveway

[goochy]

Maybe the circumstances of this accident are such that Tiger is not required under Florida law to answer police questions. If that is so, then silence serves another purpose. It can't subsequently be said that he provided the police with false or misleading information.

Apparently under Florida law he does not have to talk to the Police but they would like to talk to him voluntarily. Refusing to speak to them for 3 days (or at all) just makes it look even more bizarre and suspicious as if he is hidding something. That, off course, may not be the case but that is the perception.

The whole thing is just very very odd.

[em69]

Apparently under Florida law he does not have to talk to the Police but they would like to talk to him voluntarily. Refusing to speak to them for 3 days (or at all) just makes it look even more bizarre and suspicious as if he is hidding something. That, off course, may not be the case but that is the perception.

The whole thing is just very very odd.

Agreed. It is hard to believe that this incident is easily explained or rather uneventful. If it was easily explained, then you would think Tiger would want to clear his name. Why would he not want to clarify the situation and put an end to the speculation? He is in the public eye and the world wants to know. Makes no sense.

[dhacker1956]

Agreed. It is hard to believe that this incident is easily explained or rather uneventful. If it was easily explained, then you would think Tiger would want to clear his name. Why would he not want to clarify the situation and put an end to the speculation? He is in the public eye and the world wants to know. Makes no sense.

Makes plenty of sense!!! Why would he have to explain the private goings on in his household? In the US we ALL have a right to privacy!!! Just because he is worth 1B dollars does NOT mean he has to tell the world when he has an argument with his wife(if that is what it was.) It was a minor traffic accident. In the US unless there is some criminal activity he still has the right to his privacy!! Would you want to have to tell the poilce every time you and your wife had a little argument?

[tmacgolf]

Makes plenty of sense!!! Why would he have to explain the private goings on in his household? In the US we ALL have a right to privacy!!! Just because he is worth 1B dollars does NOT mean he has to tell the world when he has an argument with his wife(if that is what it was.) It was a minor traffic accident. In the US unless there is some criminal activity he still has the right to his privacy!! Would you want to have to tell the poilce every time you and your wife had a little argument?

To clarify, it would be everytime you have a little argument with your wife, drive into a fire hydrant then a tree at 2:30 in the morning while under the influence of prescription pain killers.....(alledgedly).

[dhacker1956]

To clarify, it would be everytime you have a little argument with your wife, drive into a fire hydrant then a tree at 2:30 in the morning while under the influence of prescription pain killers.....(alledgedly).

We have the presumption of innocence. The police report stated NO alcohol. Have you ever been upset after an argument with someone? Have you ever had your knee cut open and put back together? Why do you automatically assume he is guilty of anything. Just because he is invoking his Constitutional right to privacy. Heck I would not be talking about my private life with anyone either. I know that I have been upset enough while I was driving to hit something. My only saving grace was that there was nothing there!

[goochy]

We have the presumption of innocence. The police report stated NO alcohol. Have you ever been upset after an argument with someone? Have you ever had your knee cut open and put back together? Why do you automatically assume he is guilty of anything. Just because he is invoking his Constitutional right to privacy. Heck I would not be talking about my private life with anyone either. I know that I have been upset enough while I was driving to hit something. My only saving grace was that there was nothing there!

I think if you have invoked the emergency services, had police officers and paramedics attend to you then no, you do not have the right to privacy (not even in the good ol' US of A). No one is saying he needs to tell the media anything he doesn't want to, but I would think he has a responsibility to explain to the police what happened. By not doing so it just looks more and more odd.

I don't understand why there is so much defence of his actions here. Clearly, some very odd and atypical incident has happened to one of the planets most famous people. If it was falling asleep at the wheel while on a 2.30am condom run (or similar) why wouldn't he just say so. Obviously, given his fame people are curious to know the story...if you don't understand that where have you been the last 60 years.

I'm not saying you, me or any other individual may care about it, but as sure as eggs society and the press will care. By not explaining (and no-one is saying he has to except to the Police), he is just making an already strange occurance look more strange and it will increase speculation.

There is clearly much more to this story than a simple fender bender and given his fame people will want to know what...that is the nature of the world today. Like it or lump it.

[dhacker1956]

It is still no ones business but his. And there was a police report filed at the scene.
The police will have to know the cause of the crash. NOT he cause of why he was out in the first place. Have you ever had an accident? Did anyone ask why you were there? Never me only asked me what happened to cause the accident. They never asked me where I was coming from or going!

[tmacgolf]

It is still no ones business but his. And there was a police report filed at the scene.
The police will have to know the cause of the crash. NOT he cause of why he was out in the first place. Have you ever had an accident? Did anyone ask why you were there? Never me only asked me what happened to cause the accident. They never asked me where I was coming from or going!

If it is his wife driving, and the police are starting to suspect that there may be more to the story i.e. he hit her, then does that change anything? If it was a women driving, I think everyone would be outraged at the apparent cover up that is going on. However, he is probably trying to protect her, so it is ok to hide under the blanket of privacy. It is not like it is papparazzi coming to the door looking for answers, it is the police.

[dhacker1956]

Pardon me!! Where did it say that she was hurt? He Was hurt! Second there is still the presumption of innocence. The police have no right to go on a witch hunt! Unless they have reasonable suspicion to assume a crime was committed. She has not alleged anything like what you are suggesting. And The police can NOT go on that assumption just because he is in the public eye. She has to file the charges. Would you like it if you were in an accident and the police suspected the cause of the accident was that you had a row with your wife that they could make up these accusations without one shred of credible evidence. If that is the way things are done by your Provincial police I am sure glad I am in the US.
That presumption of innocence is vital in the justice system in any civilized democracy!

BTW-- It is not a "blanket" of privacy but a CONSTITUTIONAL right!
AS is the right to protection from self incrimination!!! As is the RIGHT to protection from all searches w/o a viable search warrant. That goes for the "search" of what happened that was irrelevant to the accident.
I agree the police have a duty to investigate the cause of the accident but NOT to interrogate a private citizen about the goings on in his private home without the reasonable suspicion of a crime. There have been NO allegations made by him or his wife against the other. In this case the police have no business inside his home or marriage!!!

[Kilroy]

Nobody said she was hurt. tmacgolf's post was a hypothetical scenario. He was making the point "What if the shoe were on the other foot". People don't look kindly on spousal abuse, but gender bias is definately a factor there.

[mpare]

Rest assured that the presumption of innocence is alive and well in Canada. Also, rest assured that the citizenry are not obligated to incriminate themselves. The wild imaginings of the press and blogers, however zealous, do not have an override on these cornerstones of our criminal justice system. They'll have to slake their salacious appetites elsewhere.

Pardon me!! Where did it say that she was hurt? He Was hurt! Second there is still the presumption of innocence. The police have no right to go on a witch hunt! Unless they have reasonable suspicion to assume a crime was committed. She has not alleged anything like what you are suggesting. And The police can NOT go on that assumption just because he is in the public eye. She has to file the charges. Would you like it if you were in an accident and the police suspected the cause of the accident was that you had a row with your wife that they could make up these accusations without one shred of credible evidence. If that is the way things are done by your Provincial police I am sure glad I am in the US.
That presumption of innocence is vital in the justice system in any civilized democracy!

BTW-- It is not a "blanket" of privacy but a CONSTITUTIONAL right!
AS is the right to protection from self incrimination!!! As is the RIGHT to protection from all searches w/o a viable search warrant. That goes for the "search" of what happened that was irrelevant to the accident.
I agree the police have a duty to investigate the cause of the accident but NOT to interrogate a private citizen about the goings on in his private home without the reasonable suspicion of a crime. There have been NO allegations made by him or his wife against the other. In this case the police have no business inside his home or marriage!!!

[SGH]

I think he was just proposing how the situation would be perceived IF the roles were reversed.

Even still, the Police have the right to question Woods regarding the incident, especially considering emergency vehicles were called to the scene. At the same time, Woods has the right to refuse comment. The real question is why would he? If there's nothing more to the story than a simple accident, I can't think of a good reason not to sit down with the Police and explain every detail.

The police may be able to push for a search warrant for the medical records of Woods, but that may be a stretch. If he was driving while under the influence of pain medication, that would be an offence worth investigation. But those details seem cloudy to say the least.

In any regard, I'm sure the Police and the general public would have kept their presumption of innocence had Tiger simply opened up from the beginning and disclosed the details of the incident. It's HIS choice to try and keep it private, but this privacy will come at a cost to his public image.

[dhacker1956]

It make no difference what the public perceptions are. The posters here are referring to a criminal hypothetical. In that regard the public perceptions have no bearing. Just because he is famous, as is his wife, That is no reason to treat him with more or less scrutiny. And BTW the poster did allude to the idea that Tiger had struck her. If that had happened she would be the one down on the pavement and no him!!! As for assuming he hit her where is any evidence of that. Were there any charges filed
? Were there any even alleged? If not then the police have NO rights or duty to try and fabricate them! The man was leaving home to go who knows, and for that matter, who has a right to know where! He turned his SUV to quickly and hit a fire hydrant which caused him to further lose control of the SUV and strike a tree. Accident!! We have all had them. I remember my last one... Just so happened that my wife and I had had a little tiff the night before... the police did not ask me if I had been fighting with her and did not probe to see if there had been any physical altercation. Am I above suspicion because I was making 40K instead of 40M dollars?!

[tmacgolf]

Nobody said she was hurt. tmacgolf's post was a hypothetical scenario. He was making the point "What if the shoe were on the other foot". People don't look kindly on spousal abuse, but gender bias is definately a factor there.

Thank you, exactly the point I had tried to make. Sorry for any confusion otherwise created. I didn't think what I wrote could be taken as an accusation that Tiger was the abuser. Basically, I feel that perhaps there is more to the story, and by choosing to remain silent, Tiger is adding to the speculation and rumour mill. He has every right to his privacy and constitutional rights, but that should not be a tool of the well legally represented to delay a simple investigation or to cover up any other factors that may be relavant. Anyway, it looks like they are seeking a warrant for medical records, as they don't think the accident caused the injuries. He may soon have to speak to the police anyway, and this time it might not be about a simple traffic accident.

[tmacgolf]

It make no difference what the public perceptions are. The posters here are referring to a criminal hypothetical. In that regard the public perceptions have no bearing. Just because he is famous, as is his wife, That is no reason to treat him with more or less scrutiny. And BTW the poster did allude to the idea that Tiger had struck her. If that had happened she would be the one down on the pavement and no him!!! As for assuming he hit her where is any evidence of that. Were there any charges filed
? Were there any even alleged? If not then the police have NO rights or duty to try and fabricate them! The man was leaving home to go who knows, and for that matter, who has a right to know where! He turned his SUV to quickly and hit a fire hydrant which caused him to further lose control of the SUV and strike a tree. Accident!! We have all had them. I remember my last one... Just so happened that my wife and I had had a little tiff the night before... the police did not ask me if I had been fighting with her and did not probe to see if there had been any physical altercation. Am I above suspicion because I was making 40K instead of 40M dollars?!

Now you are getting personal and you are wrong. Nowhere in my post did I allude that he hit her. I was pointing out that evidence seems to suggest she may have hit him (this is not conjecture or speculation as they police are in the process of getting a warrant as this is also their suspicion). My post, as most everyone except you were able to see, was a hypothetical to point out that if it had been a male suspected of hitting a female, that it would not have been acceptable for the "cone of silence" to be dropped, but when a man is abused by a women, regardless of income, it is taken less seriously. Go back, re-read my post, and then post your appology. Otherwise, plead the fifth, and move on.

[SGH]

There is a cost to celebrity, and Tiger is realizing that cost now. For a long time, he's benefitted from his status, while maintaining a fairly decent level of privacy. The difference between making 40k and 40M is the number of stakeholders. If this incident happened to me, beyond my family and friends, no one is really affected. When this incident happens to a lucrative celebrity, the ramifications stretch much further. It's ideal to think that both ends of the spectrum are and should be treated equally, but that's just not reality. Look no further than Martha Stewart. If I participated in insider trading to increase my personal wealth by the same percentage as her circumstance, I would have paid a small fine and no one would have know. Meanwhile, she serves time and made an example of. That's the reality of being celebrity. It's a two way street, be it right or wrong.

[dhacker1956]

If it is his wife driving, and the police are starting to suspect that there may be more to the story i.e. he hit her, then does that change anything? If it was a women driving, I think everyone would be outraged at the apparent cover up that is going on. However, he is probably trying to protect her, so it is ok to hide under the blanket of privacy. It is not like it is papparazzi coming to the door looking for answers, it is the police.

Please read your statement again especially the place I bolded. You did allude to the idea he hit her! And as for her hitting him... He filed no charges and mad NO such allegations. This is still required under these circumstances!!! Even if police wanted to bring these charges Tiger would have to testify to those "facts". He obviously would not do so. And he can not be forced to such!!!
While I agree he might be better off giving a formal statement to what happened with regard to the accident, the idea that he should tell the worl what happened in his private home is plain ludicrous. I would not and doubt you would either. If you would...

[tmacgolf]

Please read your statement again especially the place I bolded. You did allude to the idea he hit her! And as for her hitting him... He filed no charges and mad NO such allegations. This is still required under these circumstances!!! Even if police wanted to bring these charges Tiger would have to testify to those "facts". He obviously would not do so. And he can not be forced to such!!!
While I agree he might be better off giving a formal statement to what happened with regard to the accident, the idea that he should tell the worl what happened in his private home is plain ludicrous. I would not and doubt you would either. If you would...

I'm not going to get into a debate on the use of the term "IF" to denote a hypothetical, but I would like to correct you on your knowledge of your precious american law and constitution that you have been trumpeting. You wrote that Tiger has not alleged or filed charges of domestic violence and also said that this is required. WRONG. In Florida, and many other states, the decision whether or not to prosecute a domestic abuse case (i.e. whether or not to lay charges or investicate domestic violence) rests with the prosecutor and not with the alleged victim. Tiger would have no say in the matter and does not have to actually file charges in this type of offence. That is to protect the victim and allows them to not have to testify or even file charges against the attacker.

[Kilroy]

How is that not a hypothetical question? It starts with IF

[dhacker1956]

WE will have to agree to disagree. And as for your idea that the prosecutor can charge and convict someone without anyone testifying that the action occurred. That is plain poppycock. The accused has the right to face his accuser. If Elin struck Tiger and the prosecutor brought charges against her who would testify that the incident actually happened and wasn't a hypothetical? He can not be forced to testify.
So who would be the victim? If he would not say she hit him then what juror would convict. If there is no empirical evidence of a crime then where is the crime?

I will never agree that Tiger has any obligation or interest to tell what led up to his leaving his home at 2:20AM. And from the looks of the way his sponsors are taking this they agree with his refusal to say anything that is not pertinent to the actual accident. NONE have pulled their $$$$.
I will however agree that he could put it all behind him if he jsu told the truth. The truth is always the best policy.
If I jumped on you for your "hypothetical" it may be because they really have no place in a criminal investigation. Facts are what matter. I apologize if I did not make that fact plainer. After all I am a retired Government employee!!! Not a Writer or litigator.

[Kilroy]

If I jumped on you for your "hypothetical" it may be because they really have no place in a criminal investigation. Facts are what matter.

I thought this was an internet forum discussion, not a crimoinal investigation. Isn't that the job of the cops in Florida?

[hoolio]

Unless this story concludes with picture (or video) of a bikini cat-fight between Elin and another hot blonde, I can't see why it's still making the news. It was boring when it happened, and it's still boring.

Tiger needs to pay Britney Spears to do something really stupid again so that the attention is off of him. Shouldn't require too many zero's, she's got a history of doing that stuff for free.

[tmacgolf]

WE will have to agree to disagree. And as for your idea that the prosecutor can charge and convict someone without anyone testifying that the action occurred. That is plain poppycock. The accused has the right to face his accuser. If Elin struck Tiger and the prosecutor brought charges against her who would testify that the incident actually happened and wasn't a hypothetical? He can not be forced to testify.
So who would be the victim? If he would not say she hit him then what juror would convict. If there is no empirical evidence of a crime then where is the crime?

I will never agree that Tiger has any obligation or interest to tell what led up to his leaving his home at 2:20AM. And from the looks of the way his sponsors are taking this they agree with his refusal to say anything that is not pertinent to the actual accident. NONE have pulled their $$$$.
I will however agree that he could put it all behind him if he jsu told the truth. The truth is always the best policy.
If I jumped on you for your "hypothetical" it may be because they really have no place in a criminal investigation. Facts are what matter. I apologize if I did not make that fact plainer. After all I am a retired Government employee!!! Not a Writer or litigator.

Very well then. I agree that he would also have been better off just coming clean, but can certainly understand and accept his reasons for not doing so. It might be interesting to note however, that many domestic abuse cases in both Canada and the US go to court based on only evidence from police and their investigations. Many of these trials do not include testimony from the victim (for many obvious reasons). Although this testimony does make it easier for a conviction, it is not required. In domestic violence, the bulk of evidence is presented in court by witnesses and the police. I'm actually a huge Tiger fan, so I hope that nothing comes from this. Many agencies are reporting now that police are seeking a warrant for his medical records, as they are now suspecting domestic violence (their words, not mine). To answer your question as to who would testify if charges were actually brought, it would be the police, the nurses and the doctors who treated him at the hospital, but Tiger could not be forced to testify if he didn't want to.

[dhacker1956]

Stick to the facts, Jack!!! The facts as we have them... He laft home around 2:20 AM. Hit a fire hydrant and a tree, His wife broke out a window and he was laying on the pavement when the police arrived. Anything else is hypothetical and NOT facts.
He is not obligated nor obliged to tell anything but what happened after he got behind the wheel! And that is only if the police have facts to the contrary of what he and Elin have stated!

[tmacgolf]

Stick to the facts, Jack!!! The facts as we have them... He laft home around 2:20 AM. Hit a fire hydrant and a tree, His wife broke out a window and he was laying on the pavement when the police arrived. Anything else is hypothetical and NOT facts.
He is not obligated nor obliged to tell anything but what happened after he got behind the wheel! And that is only if the police have facts to the contrary of what he and Elin have stated!

Oh my, I was going to stop, but now feel I can't....
Leaving out other FACTS is no better than speculating on what is being suggested by said facts. Here are a few you left out.....
- Fact:No damage to driver side of truck, yet she broke out the back windows. He is 200lb plus, she is tiny
- Fact: she changed her story about how she found him and why she had the golf club- one of her versions has her saying she was driving around the neighborhood in a golf cart looking for him, another she says she heard the accident and came out saw what happened so went back in to get the golf club
fact: there is a golf cart at the scene (see pictures on TMZ)
- fact: she was first to get there but not person who called 911
- Fact: cut lips and face but no traces of blood on steering wheel and airbags not deployed
- Fact: Tiger originally stated he was incoherent because of prescription pain killers
- Fact: stories released two days earlier about Tiger cheating on his wife
-Fact: alleged mistress has hired a high profile celebrity lawyer
-Fact: police are suspecting domestic violence
fact: something made him lose control at a low rate of speed metres from his house

Not a fact but news agencies are releasing that Tiger told an unamed friend that Elin was chasing his car and hitting it with a golf golf after he admitted the affair to her.

Because I am a fan and also because this is a discussion board I would like to make a hypothetical statement based on the facts, including the ones you listed.
I think he admitted the affair, she got angry and possibly hit/slapped him, he decided it would be best to leave the situation, she chased with golf club to hit car and make a point, he being distracted by this had the accident. If it wasn't Tiger, it is probably not even news. Sadly, it was him, so it is.

[mjf]

I was just reading through Tiger's most recent statement... It seems to me that he's saying a lot of stuff that may technically be true, but is very non-specific. I'm sure several lawyers were involved...


> As you all know, I had a single-car accident earlier this week, and sustained some injuries.

Yup... seems pretty clear.

> I have some cuts, bruising and right now I'm pretty sore.

Note he does not connect the cuts / bruises to the car accident.

> This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me.

What situation is he referring to?

> I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again.

Make certain what doesn't happen again?

> This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way.

Regardless of what actually happened, I'm sure he'd like to keep it private.

> Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible.

Hmmm... I'm sure many of the rumours are false. Maybe all of them are. But he didn't say that.

> The only person responsible for the accident is me.

This is open to interpretation.

> My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.

I have no doubt she was the first person to help Tiger after the crash. That doesn't mean she didn't have a part in causing the crash in the first place.

>This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me. I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received. But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be.

It goes without saying that he doesn't want to talk about it.