- Woods cancels interview with police for the THIRD time
- Praises 'courageous' wife as speculation grows over discrepancies in her story
- Insist the accident was 'entirely my fault'
- Woman at centre of infidelity claim hires infamous lawyer Gloria Allred
- Transcript of 911 call is published
Investigators in Florida want Woods' medical records to see if his injuries are consistent with a car crash - or with an attack by his wife, celebrity website TMZ.com said today.
If police believe the injuries to his face were actually caused during a row with his wife Elin Nordegren rather than in the crash, she could face assault charges, the site speculated.
A costly mistake: The SUV came to a standstill on the grass after hitting a tree
Tiger Woods and wife Elin Nordegren together in New York last year
Woods broke his silence last night over the mysterious crash that led to reports his wife had attacked him after a row over another woman.
But he failed to address key questions over the incident.
Confusion over what really happened deepened still further after the golf superstar cancelled a third attempt by police to interview him in as many days.
Speaking for the first time since the accident in the early hours of Friday morning, Woods praised his wife for coming to his rescue.
At least one picture taken by local media at the crash scene showed a golf cart in the foreground. Woods' wife Elin said she had gone to look for her husband in such a cart before coming across the accident
'The only person responsible for the accident is me,' he said on his website after days of speculation.
'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.'
Officers have taken statements from neighbours in the gated community of Isleworth, near Orlando.
They have also asked for any CCTV footage that might have captured what caused Woods to hit a fire hydrant and ram a tree in his neighbour's garden at 2.25am.
Crumpled: Woods' Cadillac hit a hydrant (left) then a tree (right) outside his home
TMZ, the U.S. website that gained credibility when it was the first to report Michael Jackson's death, claimed yesterday that Woods told a friend that his wife 'went ghetto' on him after a bust-up over reports that he was having an affair.
The former Swedish model scratched Woods' face, drawing blood, and attacked his car with a golf club as he tried to drive away from his home, said TMZ.
The website said he told the friend that he became 'distracted' and hit a water hydrant and an oak tree after his wife came after him with a golf club.
TMZ also claimed Miss Nordegren had changed her story to police.
The website claimed she initially told Windermere police that she walked out of her house, saw the crash, and went back inside for a golf club that she used to break the windows in the car.
However she allegedly told the Florida Highway Patrol later that she had gone looking for her husband in a golf cart.
At least one picture from the scene does show a golf cart.
Woods blasted 'false, unfounded and malicious rumours' last night, saying: 'I have some cuts, bruising and right now I'm pretty sore. This situation is my fault and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I'm human and I'm not perfect.'
The statement was released as it was revealed that attempts to interview Woods and his wife were rebuffed for the third time.
Officers were initially told by Miss Nordegren that Woods was sleeping and couldn't see them on Friday afternoon.
A second planned interview on Saturday was cancelled in a call from his agent and police were again told Woods was not available to talk to them last night. Under the law in Florida, Woods is not required to talk to officers about a traffic accident investigation.
There was speculation last night that the reason Woods was delaying a meeting was possibly to allow the wounds on his face to heal.
TMZ claimed that if police suspect his wife caused the scratches, she could be arrested for domestic abuse.
Under Florida law, police have the power to intervene in a spousal violence case regardless of what those involved want.
The latest twist came as the woman named in U.S. media reports as Woods' alleged mistress, 34-year-old Rachel Uchitel, flew to Los Angeles to meet up with high-profile celebrity lawyer Gloria Allred. She has emphatically denied the allegations.
Police said that alcohol was not a factor.
TMZ claimed the couple had had a vicious bust-up in the early hours last Friday over a story that came out just hours beforehand in America's National Enquirer magazine claiming Woods had cheated on his wife.
The website said Woods, 33, told a friend that he had beaten a retreat. He got into his vehicle and drove away slowly, but was 'distracted' when he saw his wife coming after him with a golf club. He hit the hydrant and an oak tree outside his house.
The famously private golfer, who was the highest paid athlete in the world last year with £65.8million in winnings and endorsements, was found in the early hours of Friday morning lying in the road by his dented £35,000 Cadillac Escalade with his petite wife.
The neighbour who phoned 911 was interviewed by police on Saturday, and a transcript of his phone call released Sunday.
Eye of the storm: Rachel Uchitel, the woman at the centre of the Tiger Woods infidelity allegations, arrives in Los Angeles from New York yesterday
The transcript of the four-minute 911 phone call made by Woods' male neighbour:
Neighbour: I need an ambulance immediately. I have someone down in front of my house. They hit a pole. I came out to see if they...
Operator: Is it a car accident sir? (Inaudible.) OK sir is it a car accident? Hello? Sir?
N:? Hello? Yes.
O: Is it a car accident, sir?
N: Yes. It's a car accident. Yes. I need you. Yes.
O: OK, are they trapped inside of the vehicle?
N: No, they are lying on the ground now.
O: OK, stay on the line for a medical. Don't hang up, OK. And it's in front of your house, correct? (Inaudible.)
O: OK sir, medical on the line, sir OK? Fire department to transfer (to colleague).
(Cuts out)
N: Yes, Windermere, Florida.
Operator 2: What happened, what's wrong?
N: I have a neighbour. He hit the tree. We came out here just to see what was going on. I see him, he's laying down.
O2: You mean it was an auto accident?
N: Yes, it was an auto accident, yes.
O2: Was he outside or inside of his car? Your phone broke up, I heard inside. Are you there?
O: Hello, sir, are you there?
O2: Is he unconscious?
N: Yes.
O2: Are you able to tell if he's breathing?
N: No, I can't tell right now.
O2: OK, all right we do have help on the way. What colour's his car too?
N: It's a black Escalade.
O2: Is anyone able to open the door?
N: Yeah, we're trying to figure it out right now.
O: OK, is he trapped inside of the vehicle or is he on the ground?
N: (inaudible) We're just trying to get the police here right now. We don't know what happened.
O2: OK, we've got paramedics on the way but I'm going to stay on the phone in case you do find out further, OK?
N: OK, OK, thank you.
O: OK sir, is he on the ground or is he in the car?
N: Yes he's on the (inaudible).
O2: Hello, you there still?
N: Yes, I'm still here.
O2: OK, all right. Your phone's real staticy but we can still hear.
N: OK.
O2: As son as I know I'll let you know how far away they are too. Are you with them right now?
N: Yes, I'm with them right (inaudible).
O2: OK, tell me how his breathing's doing if you're able to.
(Inaudible.)
O2: Can you hear his breathing?
O: Hello, sir, are you there?
O2: Anybody hear me?
O: Hello?
O2: I heard a click, but...
O: Yeah I'm hearing that too. Hello?
O2: His phone must be going out of range. It looked like he was on a house phone so when he went to the (inaudible) he probably lost his connection. We do have help on the way, we should be there in just a couple of minutes.
O: We're there, we're going too.
O2: OK appreciate that, thank you.
