Saturday, March 13, 2010

Woods responders concerned about domestic violence

ORLANDO, Fla. — The ambulance crew that responded after golfer Tiger Woods crashed his SUV would not allow his wife to ride with him to the hospital because they thought it was a case of domestic violence, documents released Friday by the Florida Highway Patrol show.

But a police officer who responded said he didn't know where the crew got that information because he never heard it from anyone at the scene.

The reports also show that Woods' wife, Elin, turned over two bottles of pain pills to troopers after the Nov. 27 crash outside the couple's suburban Orlando home.

Tiger Woods crashed his sport utility vehicle into a fire hydrant at 2:30 a.m., and officers found him lying in the street. The SUV had a broken window and the couple told investigators Elin Woods had broken it with a golf club so she could unlock a door and pull him out.

Tiger Woods has strenuously denied his wife ever hit him. The crash led to disclosures that he had affairs with several women.

Woods was charged with careless driving and fined $164.

He has not played competitive golf since. He made a televised apology to his wife, family and fans last month.

The report shows that Health Central Hospital, which treated Woods after the crash, refused to release blood test results to investigators without a warrant. The state attorney's office in Orlando refused to request one, saying there wasn't enough probable cause that a crime had been committed.

Cpl. Thomas R. Dewitt, one of the highway patrol investigators, also wrote in his report that he asked for videotape from a security camera at the Woods' home. But the golfer's lawyer, Mark NeJame, told him the couple didn't know if the camera worked and couldn't figure out how to remove the tape.

NeJame told Dewitt he had looked at monitors inside the home and they were blank. There is no indication in Dewitt's report that officers got video despite several requests.

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