Olympic gold-medalist skier Picabo Street has been charged with assault and domestic violence after authorities say she pushed her father down the stairs in a Utah home in December.
Street told police she locked her 76-year-old father in the basement of a Park City house after pushing him and then called authorities, according to charging documents released Wednesday. She says her father, Roland Street, pulled her hair in the December 23 fight at a house near Park City that police say Street’s three children witnessed.
Roland Street told police his daughter got angry and started yelling after he bumped his car into the house while trying to leave, documents show. When the two went inside the house, a physical altercation broke out.
He says his daughter grabbed him in the shoulder and neck area and pushed him down two flights of stairs. He said he may have hit his head. Police observed cuts on Roland Street’s elbow and neck.
Picabo Street, 44, was arrested and bailed out. She was charged by prosecutors about two weeks later with three counts of misdemeanour domestic violence in the presence of a child and one count of misdemeanour assault.
Her attorney, Jason Richards, said she denies any wrongdoing in what she considers a private family matter. He said Picabo Street is hopeful an “amicable resolution” can be reached.
Summit County prosecutor Ivy Telles said she’s prepared to discuss a possible plea deal to resolve the case, but that the two sides haven’t begun negotiations.
The next scheduled hearing is on February 16 in a Park City court.
The highlight of Picabo Street’s illustrious skiing career came when she won a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in the women’s super-G event. She also won silver in the downhill at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, and competed in the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City.
She was first American woman to win the World Cup downhill season title in 1995, and she repeated as champion the next season. She totaled nine downhill victories in World Cup races during her career.
More recently, she worked as an analyst for Fox Sports during the 2014 Winter Games from Sochi, Russia.
Picabo Street lives in Park City and spends most of her time raising her three children, Richards said. She also does charity work, he said.
“She’s a stand-up person, as good as you can get,” Richards said.
