Former longtime FOX 13 anchor Hope Woodside faces multiple charges after she was arrested twice for driving under the influence of alcohol in a two-day period.
Woodside was arrested March 29 in Summit County after someone called dispatchers and complained that she was drinking alcohol and driving around the Pinebrook/Jeremy Ranch area.
A Summit County sheriff’s deputy pulled her over for a traffic violation, according to jail booking documents, and noticed an “odor of an alcoholic beverage.” The deputy conducted field sobriety tests, he wrote in booking documents, but Woodside refused a Breathalyzer.
The deputy wrote that he found a Diet Coke can with alcohol in it inside Woodside’s vehicle, along with a bottle of chardonnay that had the seal broken. Woodside allegedly admitted to drinking alcohol and driving, according to the booking statement.
She was released that day after posting $1,690 bail.
The following day, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper was called to Summit County after Woodside allegedly ran her vehicle off the road on an offramp of Interstate 80.
Woodside told the trooper that another vehicle had swerved and caused her to crash into a snowbank, according to jail records. But when Woodside got out of her car, the trooper said she stumbled and struggled to maintain her balance. He arrested her after conducting field sobriety tests and later found an open container of alcohol in her car.
Woodside was charged last week in Summit County Justice Court with two counts of DUI, both class B misdemeanors that can carry a maximum penalty of up to six months in jail. She also was charged with two counts of having an open container of alcohol, as well as minor traffic infractions.
Her attorney, Greg Skordas, declined to comment Monday.
Woodside announced last September that she would be leaving FOX 13 after a nearly 23-year run anchoring KSTU’s 9 p.m. newscast. The anchorwoman had been off the air since August 2018 while she considered her future, and told viewers in the September broadcast that she felt it was the right time to step away.
Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune is a content partner with FOX 13.
