It's sad that this is not a surprise at all. For a bit more context than the above article: "According to an arrest warrant, a passerby noticed Solo passed out behind the steering wheel for more than an hour with the vehicle’s engine running and the two children in the backseat. A responding officer could smell alcohol, and the warrant said that Solo refused a field sobriety test and her blood was drawn instead." AP News article It's not good, and the kids were in the car, but it doesn't sound like she was out on the road, endangering other drivers.
Well, except that she got to that parking lot somehow. Unless she bought a six pack at the shopping center and pounded it in the car before starting home...
I don't miss Hope Solo on the soccer pitch. I said years ago that she was a liability, not an asset. I haven't changed my mind.
Are 24 hour Walmarts a thing? Ours closes at 10PM but I’m not sure if North Carolina ones are different. She was detained around 1:00AM after someone noticed she was passed out with the engine running for almost an hour. I wonder if she might have stopped in the parking lot on the way home from something because she wanted to sleep it off overnight. Why she would do that with two 2 years in the back is a head scratcher though.
Not a very good person in terms of mistakes in her personal life but she’s still better than our starting keepers. I would make the argument that Casey Murphy might surpass Hope in legendary status if she keeps getting the start by Vlatko.
It's possible that she was driving... realized it was dangerous for herself, her children, other drivers, and pedestrians... and decided it would be safer for everyone to rest in the parking lot for a while. And then feel asleep. Or she decided that she'd sleep it off in the parking lot and that her young children would be fine. (I'm NOT saying that would have been a good decision, simply that she might have thought it was.) But here's a question. If anything that you or I have written is on the mark... wasn't there anyone Hope Solo might have called to come and help? Or was she unable to realize that? Or ashamed to call for help? Every bit of my speculation may be way off. But this seems like a disturbing story however you look at it.
Many Super Walmarts are 24 hours, esp. in the South. Even if it was closed, there's usually workers and some traffic around all night long. They're not bad places to park if you need to sleep in a somewhat safe place. This is what got my attention in the AP article: Maybe she had a fight with her SO, left with the kids b/c she didn't feel safe? Driving after drinking is never a safe option, but at the time it could have been safer than the immediate alternative. My mom used to do this with me sometimes when my alcoholic dad would get violent. Y'all, I don't even like Solo. Never have. But I'm sitting here thinking about the South and why a woman with twin 2-year-olds would end up passed out in a Walmart parking lot at 1 a.m. on a weeknight. It doesn't seem likely she'd have been at a party or even a restaurant at that time of night, not with toddlers in tow. Obviously, I don't know for certain, but I don't think it was just her out having a good time and then trying to drive home.
I've wondered about this. Certainly seems possible. If so, it raises the question: was there no where else to go? Was there no one she felt she could call? Was she too upset? Did she feel too embarrassed? I'm very sorry that you and your mother went through what you've described. Horrible... and way too common.
Maybe all of her family are back in Washington state? It’s certainly bizarre circumstances and there’s a history of domestic violence between Solo and her husband Jeramy Stevens.
Just a clarification: many Walmarts in the South used to be 24/7, but after reducing their hours in 2020, most have not gone back to the old timings (some may have) and close at 11 pm or midnight. But, almost all Walmarts have a policy that their parking lots are available for free, overnight parking, whether you are in a RV or car (Normally, you won't get kicked out if you park there to sleep). So, that police came to wake her up in a Walmart parking lot must have been because the engine was running or because the passerby saw the kids in the car (or I guess that Walmart, in particular, could be an exception). I agree that it seems there may have been some extenuating circumstances, and not that she had just partied hard with her kids and then passed out. Yet, regardless of what happened, she made some bad choices here (even if for a good reason), and that seems par for the course.
I'm trying to comprehend what all she could have had to put her out for an hour. I'm trying to recall the last time I "passed out" from drinking and what I had put down the ole gullet. Seem to recall shine was involved along with copious amounts of beer and a campfire and a tent and someone helping me into said tent, eventually. I guess everyone is different. Sounds like with toddler's in toe, something was definitely going on with her out of the ordinary. From my stand point, beer alone, well, I would get too full before passing out from just beer. Hmm, I see a challenging coming on.
I know the article says she "passed out", but I don't think we have to make the assumption that she actually passed out from heavy drinking. She could have had a couple of drinks and decided to sleep it off rather than continue to drive. We don't know her blood alcohol level, and nothing here that we know so far says that had to be the case. I would say the above is also true if the speculation above is correct that she may be trying to go with a necessity defense (something like she was fleeing a dangerous situation while drunk and pulled over at the nearest safe place to wait/sleep). And she will need a defense: after doing the bare minimum of research on the law in NC, a DWI with a minor in the car (an aggravating factor) automatically carries a Level 1 punishment, which means "a fine up to $4,000 and a minimum jail sentence of 30 days and a maximum of two years." However, "State law does allow for some departure from these penalties in certain cases. Under North Carolina General Statute § 20-179(g), a judge can reduce the minimum term of imprisonment for a Level One Punishment to a minimum of 10 days so long as a condition of special probation is that the alleged offender abstain from alcohol consumption and be monitored by a continuous alcohol monitoring system for not less than 120 days. The judge will also impose a requirement that the alleged offender obtain a substance abuse assessment and the education or treatment required for the restoration of a driver’s license and as a condition of probation."
Also, if this had happened in another season, she likely would have turned the engine off. I imagine it was running so they could stay warm. (Don't know which was the bigger factor in the DWI: The engine running or just having the keys in the ignition at all.)
Solo has postponed her induction ceremony into the Hall of Fame and is entering an in-patient alcohol treatment program: pic.twitter.com/GBsplH3CuF— Hope Solo (@hopesolo) April 29, 2022