New footage released today shows the moment Hope Solo was snatched from her car by police on the night of her DWI arrest after passing out behind the wheel with her two-year-old twins behind her.
Solo, 41, was arrested March 31 after she was spotted in her car in a Walmart parking lot in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Their two-year-old twins, Lozen and Vittorio, were in the back seat of the car with the engine still running.
The ex-USWNT goaltender was later convicted and sentenced to a 30-day jail term, which she did not have to serve because of the month she spent in rehab following the incident. She describes the night as “the biggest mistake of my life”.
Video from that night, released today by Queen City News, shows a police officer banging on the driver’s window of the car before a startled Solo replies, “Oh my god”.
She is asked: “Hello, can you open the door for me? are you ok People were kind of worried about you guys sleeping out here and want to make sure you’re okay. Solo claims she was pulled over, claiming her stop was, “Um… because I was taking a nap.”
When asked how much she’s been drinking, the world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist says, “It’s okay if I…” before cutting it off. She later responds to the same question, “I haven’t had any” and “I’m fine, thanks sir,” adding that she drank “zero alcohol” while scrolling through her phone.
Solo then takes a call.
“I was just trying to take a nap because I’m so damn tired from driving. Yes, I, I mean, I stopped in a Walmart lot to take a nap. I have no idea why he’s here, but wait a minute,” Solo says, speaking into her phone.
Hope Solo is shown on the night of her DWI arrest in new footage released today
At the beginning of the video, a terrified Solo answered officers through her car window
Solo was later snatched from her car while her two-year-old twins cried in the back
Solo has two twins with former Seattle Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens. The kids were in the car with her when she was arrested for DWI in March
Former US women’s national team goaltender Solo was arrested on March 31 on suspicion of alcohol abuse
MOMENTS THAT RESULT IN SOLO BEING PULLED OUT OF HER CAR
Officer GJ Mager: ‘Ma’am, how much did you drink last night?’
Solo: ‘Nothing, sir.’
Skinny: “Nothing? So you’re willing to undergo field sobriety tests?”
Solo: ‘No, sir.’
Skinny: “Okay. You understand that if we don’t undergo sobriety tests in the field, we…”
Solo: “I don’t have to. I just took a nap in a Walmart lot, I was fine.
Skinny: “Get out of the vehicle for me.”
She is later pulled out of the car while her two-year-old twins cry in the back seats after suggesting she would not undergo field sobriety tests.
Solo is later handcuffed after continuing to tell officers she was just napping and refusing to take tests.
According to a warrant for the incident in March, a passerby noticed Solo passed out behind the wheel for more than an hour with the vehicle’s engine running and the two children in the back seat.
A responding officer could smell alcohol, and the warrant said Solo refused an on-site sobriety test.
Widely considered one of the greatest goaltenders in history, Solo lives in the town of Roaring Gap with former NFL star husband Jerramy Stevens and twins Vittorio Genghis and Lozen Orianna Judith Stevens.
Following the incident in March, the former soccer star decided to postpone her Hall of Fame induction ceremony, writing, “I have contacted the Hall of Fame and respectfully requested that my Hall of Fame induction ceremony be postponed to 2023.
“I will voluntarily enter an inpatient alcohol treatment program to address my alcohol issues.”
Solo was taken to the judge’s office, where she refused to take a breathalyzer test, so police obtained a search warrant for a blood sample. Solo had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.24 percent, three times the legal limit.
Tests also showed that Solo had THC in her system, according to a police report.
She eventually faced three charges on the case: driving with a disability, resisting an officer, and misdemeanor child abuse. In July, she pleaded guilty to DWI. In return, her other two charges were dismissed.
Solo had had before the law before, including in 2014 when she was arrested at her home in Washington for allegedly assaulting her nephew and half-sister. That case was later dropped after prosecution witnesses refused to testify against her.
Solo, pictured with her husband and one of their children, had had multiple legal exposures, including an arrest in 2014 for allegedly assaulting her nephew and a half-sister
Solo is pictured kissing Stevens after winning the final between USA and Japan during the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015
Solo played 202 games for the United States and won 153 games during her playing career
Solo was also summarily kicked out of the national team in 2016 after being sacked during the Brazil Olympics for calling the Swedish team “cowards” for taking a defensive stance on the defending gold medalists, marking a commendable playing career ended, which was also marred by controversy.
She was suspended for 30 days in early 2015 after she and her husband were pulled over in a US Soccer van and Stevens was charged with drunk driving.
She was also benched after publicly questioning coach Greg Ryan’s decision to field Briana Scurry during the 2007 World Cup against Brazil, comments many saw as an insult to Scurry.
Solo played 202 games with the national team, with 153 wins and an international record 102 shutouts. She won a World Cup title and two Olympic gold medals with the team.
At the 2015 World Cup, she only conceded three goals in five shutouts in seven games.
She was elected to the US Soccer Hall of Fame in January. The induction ceremony was scheduled for May 21, but Solo asked for the ceremony to be postponed until next year.