Woods cancels meeting with authorities, issues statement

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WINDERMERE, Fla. (AP) -- Tiger Woods canceled another meeting with state troopers but, for the first time, talked about his automobile accident on his Web site, saying it was his fault, that his wife acted courageously and that remaining details were private.

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.

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. "He's not required by law to give us a statement, and we'll move forward with our investigation without it."

Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent at IMG, said in an e-mail Sunday:

"We have been informed by the Florida Highway Patrol that further discussion with them is both voluntary and optional. Although Tiger realizes that there is a great deal of public curiosity, it has been conveyed to FHP that he simply has nothing more to add and wishes to protect the privacy of his family."

In a tape of an emergency services 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?"

In a statement posted on his Web site, Woods took responsibility for the accident.

"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."