Tiger Woods caught sleeping behind the wheel before DUI charge

Tiger Woods was asleep at the wheel of his black Mercedes when a police officer approached the vehicle shortly after 2am on Monday in Jupiter, Florida, eventually leading to the golfer’s arrest on a DUI charge.

According to a probable cause affidavit released on Tuesday, via the Golf Channel, Woods’ vehicle was stopped in the roadway and the golfer “had to be woken up” by the officer who came on the scene.

In a statement on Monday that followed reports of his arrest, the former world number one blamed the incident on an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications, adding: “I want the public to know that alcohol was not involved.”

The affidavit noted that Woods, who underwent back surgery last month, was taking “several prescriptions”. Although he had difficulty in performing multiple field sobriety tests, his alcohol level was recorded at zero in a pair of breathalyser tests administered around 4:30am.

Further details in the affidavit reveal Woods was in the driver’s seat of his car and wearing his seatbelt when police arrived at the scene. The vehicle was running and the brake lights and right indicator were on.

The responding officer observed that Woods “had extremely slow and slurred speech” and told police he was just returning from a golfing trip in Los Angeles. Woods also said he did not know where he was.

Police said Woods “changed his story of where he was going and where he was coming from” and asked how far away from his house he was. The report noted that Woods was driving southbound, the opposite direction he should have been going if he was trying to return to his Jupiter Island home.

Woods’ arraignment is scheduled for July 5.