Crash report details Tiger's erratic drive

BY ANTONIO GONZALEZ

Last updated 11:11 03/12/2009

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A Florida Highway Patrol photo of damage to Tiger Woods' Cadillac SUV.

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Tiger Woods caused US$3200 (NZ$4431) in property damage, wasn't wearing a seat belt and was driving erratically outside his Florida home before crashing into a tree, according to a final report released today (NZ time).

The six-page report only describes the accident and does not include statements from Woods, his wife, Elin Nordegren, or witnesses. It also included 105 photos of the accident scene.

The report's release came just hours after the world's No. 1 golfer put out a statement saying he had let his family down with "transgressions" he regrets "with all of my heart."

That statement follows a cover story in Us Weekly magazine that reports a Los Angeles cocktail waitress claims she had a 31-month affair with Woods.

Early today (NZ time), the magazine published what it said was a voicemail - provided by Jaimee Grubbs - that Woods left on her phone on November 24, three days before his middle-of-the-night car crash outside his home in Isleworth, an exclusive gated community outside Orlando.

The final accident report shows Woods didn't just hit a fire hydrant and tree.

Upon leaving his driveway, Woods' vehicle rubbed up against a line of bushes, crossed over a curb, onto a grass median and into a row of hedges before swerving left into the hydrant and crashing into the tree, an illustration in the report shows. Woods' vehicle was traveling 30 mph in a 25 mph zone. Damage to the SUV was estimated at US$8000 (NZ$11,000).

Photographs of the accident were taken by security officers in the Isleworth community, a neighbour and troopers. The photos show damage to both front sides of the Cadillac Escalade, and the windows on the back passenger doors were broken.

Nordegren told Windermere police she used a golf club to smash the back windows to help Woods get out.

The Florida Highway Patrol closed its inquiry into the crash yesterday. Woods, who refused to talk to authorities, was charged with careless driving, which carries a US$164 fine and four points on his driving record.

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- AP