In the minutes after his vehicle overturned on a narrow Jupiter Island, Florida, road, Tiger Woods said he was on the phone with President Donald Trump, according tonewly released body camera video.
Woods' SUVcollided with a slower pickup truck's trailer on Fridayand overturned onto its driver's side. Woods himself climbed out of the vehicle through the passenger side, and spoke with arriving officers at the scene for some time afterward. The officers observed Woods acting in an impaired fashion and placed him under arrest.
At one point, Woods walked down a nearby lane and was called back to the scene. He could be heard saying "Thank you so much. All right. You got it. Bye," and later tells the officer, "I was just talking with the president."
It's not clear who called whom.
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"I feel so badly He's got some difficulty. There was an accident, and that's all I know," Trump said shortly after Woods' incident. "A very close friend of mine, he's an amazing person, an amazing man. But some difficulty."
Woods told an officer at the scene that "he was very apologetic about what he did last night" — apparently a reference to Trump saying that Woods would not be playing in the Masters this year.
Trump and Woods have a long history, having played golf together for many years. Trump awarded Woods the Congressional Medal of Freedom in 2019. Woods is now dating Vanessa Trump, the ex-wife of Donald Trump Jr.
Woods was arrested on charges of DUI and refusing to submit to a lawful test, and was later released. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his attorney has sought permission for Woods to leave the country for treatment.