Tiger Woods Awaits Trial After DUI Arrest
Pakinomist contributor Donna Rotunno joins ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss Tiger Woods’ DUI arrest in Florida and explains how the golfer’s refusal to submit to chemical tests and his history of drug use may affect prosecutors’ strategy.
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Tiger Woods was thrust back into the spotlight last week when he was arrested on a DUI charge following a car crash in Florida in which authorities said he was driving at a “high rate of speed.”
Woods took a breathalyzer test at the scene and blew “triple zeros,” but refused to provide a urine sample, according to Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek.
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Golfer Tiger Woods stands by his overturned vehicle in Jupiter Island, Fla., Friday, March 27, 2026. (Jason Oteri/AP)
Legal expert Donna Rotunno, an attorney and host of the Pakinomist podcast “Crime & Justice with Donna Rotunno,” told Pakinomist Digital that authorities may have a hard time trying to get a conviction on the DUI charge, but that they could make an example out of him for allegedly failing to submit to a urine test.
“The interesting thing about Tiger is that they will never be able to prove that he was driving under the influence because he blew zero-zero and they have no chemical test,” she explained. “So, they can’t even tell you what was in his system that impaired him. Obviously, you can have a car accident without being impaired. You can be speeding and have a car accident, and then I think they’re going to have a very hard time with the DUI charge.
“But the chemical rejection, it’s going to be there, they kind of ‘get him.’ What’s going to happen there just depends, and what I’m reading about this county is that this county is pretty strict. The question is if they’re going to try to make an example out of him because he’s a name and because this isn’t his first situation. Because his first DUI case was more than five years old, I don’t think there’s any enhanced penalties for him because it’s been nine years, but they will definitely take into account that he has a background in this arena and I think that will affect what they offer him.
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Tiger Woods was driven from the Martin County Jail after being arrested for driving under the influence following a car accident on March 27, 2026 in Stuart, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Woods was arrested in May 2017 on a DUI charge in Florida and months later agreed to enter a DUI program. He pleaded guilty to a reckless driving charge in October 2017 and received a year’s probation, a fine, community service and was forced to undergo regular drug screening.
In February 2021, Woods was involved in a serious rollover accident in the Los Angeles area. Officials said at the time that he was driving over the legal limit, but he was not charged with a crime.
Pakinomist Digital asked Rotunno if law enforcement would try to get Woods to take some responsibility for his actions given his now lengthy history. The car accident he was involved in could have been much worse.
“If he wanted to hurt someone else, all bets are off. If he wanted to hurt someone else, they would have come after him,” Rotunno said. “Not only that, but think of the civil lawsuits he would face.
This handout photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office shows Tiger Woods in Stuart, Florida, Friday, March 27, 2026. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
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“I definitely think they’re going to take that into consideration. I mean, this car overturned. He’s lucky he didn’t get hurt again. I mean, my God. Fortunately, those cars are built like tanks and he was able to get out the other way. But think about the effect on your body, a person who’s been through all the surgeries and all the impacts that that car has on that car and the suffering that that car has and the car’s overturning suffering. the fact that he was able to get out with no broken limbs, that’s amazing.”
Woods has not commented on his arrest.
