Ohio residents who follow professional golf will undoubtedly be familiar with Tiger Woods. Woods made headlines early in his career by winning major tournaments in spectacular fashion, but problems in his private life have provided more stories for gossip columnists than sports writers in recent years. The latest such story involves an alleged drunk driving incident in Palm Beach County on the morning of May 29.
Media outlets around the country seized on the news that Woods had been taken into custody by police in Jupiter on DUI charges. A police report released later in the afternoon clarified matters and revealed Woods was not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident. According to police, Woods was taken into custody after failing a field sobriety test near Indian Creek Parkway at about 7:18 a.m. officers say that they found Woods unresponsive behind the wheel of his vehicle.
Woods released a statement after being released from the Palm Beach County Jail in which he blamed his disorientation on an unexpected and unintended reaction to a mixture of prescription medications. The golf star has been battling injuries for several years, and reports indicate that the drunk driving incident comes just weeks after he underwent his fourth back surgery.
Experienced criminal defense attorneys may consider mounting an involuntary intoxication defense when presented with facts like these. Attorneys could seek to have drunk driving charges dismissed when their clients may have been given intoxicating substances surreptitiously or were impaired by medications prescribed by their doctors.
Source: ESPN.com, Tiger Woods found asleep in car at time of arrest; no alcohol found in breath test, Bob Harig, May 30, 2017
