Former U.S. goalkeeper Solo arrested on suspected DWI

WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (Reuters) – Former United States goalkeeper Hope Solo was arrested in North Carolina on suspicion of driving while intoxicated on Thursday, a spokesperson for the police department said on Friday.

Solo was arrested in a Walmart parking lot in Winston-Salem and charged with impaired driving (DWI), resisting arrest and misdemeanor child abuse, Winston-Salem Police Department said.

Solo’s two children were in the vehicle at the time of the offense, the department added. She was processed and subsequently released.

“Based on the impending prosecution, no further information will be released regarding this arrest,” said a department spokesperson. A mugshot of Solo was also released.

A statement posted to 40-year-old Solo’s Twitter account and attributed to her counsel, Rich Nichols, addressed the incident.

“On the advice of counsel, Hope can’t speak about this situation, but she wants everyone to know that her kids are her life, that she was released immediately and is now at home with her family, that the story is more sympathetic than the initial charges suggest, and that she looks forward to her opportunity to defend these charges,” the statement read.

Solo, widely considered one of the greatest female goalkeeper’s to play the game, helped the U.S. win two Olympic gold medals and a World Cup during her career.

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, Rory Carroll in Los Angeles and Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem; Editing by Ken Ferris)