Tiger Woods Accepts Full Blame for Car Crash

WINDERMERE, Florida (Reuters) - Golf star Tiger Woods took responsibility on Sunday for crashing his SUV outside his Florida house and said his wife acted courageously to help him, but again canceled an interview with authorities investigating the incident.

The world's top golfer said he wanted to keep details private of the accident in which his SUV crashed into a fire hydrant and a tree outside his mansion, but a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) officer said charges were still pending.

The accident occurred after Woods pulled his Cadillac Escalade out of the driveway of his house at about 2:25 a.m. EST on Friday, the FHP said. He was taken to the hospital with injuries and released.

"This situation is my fault and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me," Woods, 33, said on his official website (http://web.tigerwoods.com).

"I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again.

"This is a private matter and I want 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."

Several reports have been made by tabloid newspapers and celebrity websites claiming Woods and his wife had been arguing shortly before his car crashed outside the couple's $2.4 million home.

When police arrived at Woods' home on Friday shortly after the accident, the golfer was bleeding from the mouth and was "in and out of it for several minutes," Windermere Police Chief Daniel Saylor told CNN on Friday.

WOODS PRAISES WIFE'S ACTIONS

Woods' Swedish wife, Elin Nordegren, used a golf club to smash a window of his SUV to get him out, Saylor said.

In his statement on Sunday, Woods paid tribute to his wife's actions.

"My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble," he said. "She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.