Tiger Woods cancels meeting with police for 3rd straight day, says accident his fault
By Fred Goodall, APSunday, November 29, 2009
For 3rd time, Woods cancels meeting with police
WINDERMERE, Fla. — Tiger Woods canceled another meeting with state troopers on Sunday, the third straight time he’s done so. He posted a statement on his Web site that said the accident was his fault, but failed to address the lingering questions about the crash that sent him to a hospital.
The statement was posted about an hour before state troopers were to meet with the world’s No. 1 golfer at his home inside the gates of Isleworth. A meeting was not rescheduled.
In a tape of a 911 call released Sunday, two days after the accident, a neighbor told dispatchers that a black Cadillac Escalade hit a tree and “I have someone down in front of my house.”
Woods’ neighbor never mentions the golfer by name, and the call is inaudible at several points because of the bad connection.
“I came out here just to see what was going on,” the neighbor, who was not identified, told dispatchers. “I see him, and he’s laying down.”
One woman is heard in the background yelling, “What happened?”
“This situation is my fault, and it’s obviously embarrassing to my family and me,” Woods said. “I’m human and I’m not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Woods said it was a private matter, and he wanted to keep it that way.
“Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible,” he said.
Windermere police chief Daniel Saylor has said Woods’ wife, Elin, used a golf club to smash out a rear window to help him get out of the SUV when she heard the crash from inside their home at 2:25 a.m. Friday.
“The only person responsible for the accident is me,” Woods said. “My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.”
Sgt. Kim Montes of the Florida Highway Patrol said Woods’ attorney, Mark Nejame, informed the patrol that Woods would not be meeting with troopers Sunday afternoon.
“It has not been rescheduled,” Montes said.