Featured Image Credit: KIRAN RIDLEY/AFP via Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity, Sex and Relationships, Sport, Crime
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: Celebrity, Sex and Relationships, Sport, Crime
Tiger Woods’ ex-girlfriend, Kristin Smith, has issued her response after being 'unexpectedly confronted' over his DUI arrest last week.
The incident, which occurred in Jupiter Island, Florida on Friday (27 March), saw Woods attempt to overtake a truck and trailer at considerable speed.
Woods is said to have struck the rear of the tow vehicle, causing his SUV to flip before landing on its side. Officers claim he refused to provide a urine sample after climbing out of the passenger window.
According to police reports, Woods registered 'triple zeros' on a breathalyser test taken on the scene, which indicates no alcohol was within his system at the time of the incident.
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He has since been charged with driving under the influence, as well as property damage, and refusing to submit to a lawful test.
Sheriff John Budensiek told the press on Friday: "He is cooperative, but he was not trying to incriminate himself, so he was careful in what he said and didn't say.
"We will never get definitive results as to what he was impaired on at the time of the crash."
In his mugshot, shared by arresting officers around 10 pm local time, Woods had visibly bloodshot eyes. He was reportedly released on bond an hour later.
Businesswoman Smith dated the 50-year-old golfer back in 2016, but parted ways ahead of Woods' DUI arrest the following year in 2017 after he was found unconscious behind the wheel of his car by Florida police.
Subsequent tests found that the golfer had five different drugs in his system at the time, including two painkillers.
Taking to social media on Sunday (29 March), Smith shared a series of statements to her Instagram Stories which began: "Regarding recent events and my past, I have moved forward and being dragged back into these moments, and untrue narratives is triggering."
The stylist continued: "Beyond that, after traumatic unrelated incidents over the last couple of years, I don't handle being unexpectedly approached or confrontation well and it can be deeply unsettling for me.
"Anxiety and fear of my family and me being contacted, watched, or followed, in hopes of provoking a reaction about something that has not involved me for a very long time simply does not get easier."
Referencing Woods, Smith went on to note: "I have taken the time to process my personal experiences and am grateful for moments that have shaped me.
"I hope people will remember that the person they have celebrated and been entertained by is, above all, a human being, and deserving of decency too, just like anyone else.
"I respectfully ask that my family and I be treated with dignity and privacy now and as this process plays out."
She resolved: "For nearly ten years, I have chosen silence around this situation. That decision wasn't always easy. Finally not abandoning myself feels cathartic. Moving on."