New footage surfaces from Hope Solo’s DWI arrest
New footage of Hope Solo’s arrest emerged online Tuesday, seven months after the former U.S. women’s national team goaltender was arrested for a DWI in North Carolina.
In the opening moments of the video, obtained by Queen City News, a police officer can be seen approaching the 41-year-old Solo, who was behind the wheel at the time with her two young children inside the running vehicle.
The officer is heard asking Solo why she was “sleeping in the parking lot,” to which Solo responded, “Because I took a nap.”
Solo later told the officer that she had not been drinking when asked if she had consumed alcohol. She also spoke on her cell phone while an officer remained at her car window.
A second police officer later arrived at the scene and took Solo’s phone, which she protested. Solo was then asked repeatedly to step out of the vehicle before the officer pulled her from the SUV, where her children can be heard crying.
Solo was then put in handcuffs and told she was under arrest.
Four months after the incident, Solo pleaded guilty to driving while impaired. She was given an active sentence of 30 days and a suspended sentence of 24 months, in addition to $2,500 in fines plus a $600 fee to cover lab test costs.
Solo, who sought treatment following the incident, reflected on the incident over the summer, which she called the “worst mistake of [her] life.”
“The upside of making a mistake this big is that hard lessons are learned quickly,” Solo wrote on Instagram at the time. “Learning these lessons has been difficult, and at times, very painful.”
Solo, who went on to thank loved ones for their support, concluded the message, “I continue to be a student of the greatest school called life and I will continue to learn and grow from these experiences.”