Tiger Woods ‘drives like a bat out of hell very often’ but wasn’t abusing ‘illegal drugs,’ friend says

Tiger Woods was known for “driving like a bat out of hell” through his lavish Florida enclave, where pictures Saturday show he returned with his tail between his legs following yet another rollover crash.

The golf legend was apparently too defeated to shut the front door of his Jupiter Island estate, about three miles north of where he flipped his SUV the day before.

Drone photos taken exclusively by The Post show the glass door of his seaside mansion was left ajar at 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning, less than 12 hours after he was sprung from jail.

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Tiger Woods is known for driving recklessly, according to one former employee.Martin County Sheriff’s Department / BACKGRID
Officers released Woods, 50, through the back of the jailhouse shortly before midnight Friday in a failed bid to avoid the paps — and dejection and anger were written all over his face as he slumped into the front seat of a black Cadillac.

“Normally, they walk out the front door. But I’m assuming they didn’t want any issues,” a law enforcement source told The Post.

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Woods was charged with driving under the influence, property damage, and refusal to submit to a lawful test.Christopher Oquendo for NY Post
The fallen golf great skulked back to his Jupiter Island home — purchased for $44.5 million in 2017 —  after spending eight hours in Martin County Jail.

Police said Woods, who has a rocky past with prescription pills and car wrecks, was not drunk at the time of Friday’s crash, but he appeared to be under the influence of “some type of medication or drug.”

But Woods was known to be a reckless driver and notorious for speeding through his Florida enclave, where the speed limit on most streets tops out at 30 mph.

“The guy is a terrible driver … he drives like a bat out of hell very often on a road where lawn services are parked with heavy equipment,” a former employee for the athlete told The Daily Mail.

“I’ve been with him in the car going 55 or 60 mph, driving past cops who don’t seem to care.”

The insider told the Daily Mail that there was zero chance the gold legend was abusing “illegal drugs.”
“I know the guy, that’s just not what he does,” the source revealed.

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Woods was also charged with property damage and refusal to submit to a lawful test.AP
Woods refused to provide cops with a urine sample because he has been taking heavy doses of prescription opioids for injuries he’s sustained from previous car wrecks and after more than a dozen surgeries, including seven for his back, the insider continued.

“He has been on tons of pain medication for years.”

The accident happened 2 p.m. Friday, when cops say Woods  allegedly clipped the back of a utility truck towing a trailer he was trying to overtake on a narrow road just three miles from his home, causing his SUV to roll over. He was not injured in the accident.

Woods was charged with driving under the influence, property damage, and refusal to submit to a lawful test.

He was arrested and spent  the state -mandated eight hours in jail, but was not forced to share a cell with the general population — despite the promise by Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek that Woods wasn’t given preferential treatment.

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Cops said that Woods appeared “lethargic” and showed “signs of impairment” after he crawled out of his overturned SUV.Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
The incident — the second alleged DUI for Woods and his third vehicular incident in one decade — has rattled his wealthy neighborhood, which boasts celebrities such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates and singer Celine Dion.

“It’s the talk of the town that’s for sure,” Thomas Gillis, a pro-golfer who competed alongside Woods for years and lives just two miles from the crash site, told The Post.

“Most people are surprised that a guy with that much financial stability doesn’t have a driver,” Gillis said. “That’s basically the consensus here: he shouldn’t be driving.”

Woods was alone at the time of the accident, with sources telling The Post his girlfriend Vanessa Trump, the ex-wife of Donald Trump, Jr., and her daughter, Kai, were far from the scene.

Kai, 17, was enjoying the Miami Open and schmoozing with professional athletes at the exact time Woods flipped his car.

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Woods did not consent to a urine test.via REUTERS
The Trump family isn’t exactly pleased that someone allegedly battling drug issues is around the president’s grandchildren, according to a family insider.

“There would be concern if their kids weren’t being protected by Secret Service,” the source told The Post.

The agents are “certainly not letting Tiger Woods – even without the DUI” drive the kids, the source said.

Woods blew three zeroes on a Breathalyzer, but cops claimed he appeared “lethargic” and showed “signs of impairment” after he crawled out of his overturned SUV.

Budensiek claimed Woods refused to comply with the urine test simply because he was not “trying to incriminate himself.”

If found guilty, the incident would be Woods’ first DUI conviction.

Woods was infamously arrested in 2017 after being found unconscious behind the wheel of his running car while high on a cocktail of prescription painkillers.

He took a plea deal for reckless driving and served a year of probation.

Additional reporting by Geoff Earle and Sofia Poznansky