A former Olympic athlete's life has become “a living nightmare” after she says she accidentally failed to scan two items at a self-checkout machine — leading to her arrest and the loss of her coveted job as an NCAA Division 1 softball coach.
Megan Pettypiece, 48, when she was the head coach of the Valparaiso University softball team, Scanning her groceries at a Walmart self-checkout machine in Indiana on March 28, according to the report. National Post,
The machine reportedly did not scan asparagus and ham Pettipiece Intended for purchase.
Walmart security workers noticed she failed to scan the items — which totaled $67 — causing them to call the police, even though she had paid $176 for other groceries.
Pettypiece said he didn't realize the machine didn't read the items, so he was arrested.
During the arrest, police discovered she had three disposable vapes and two unopened blister packs containing the anti-nausea medication Zofran in her purse.
The former softball player — who played for the Canadian national team at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games — was charged with theft, possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance, the outlet reported.
Pettypiece resigned as the head coach of the Valparaiso softball team on April 1 after a storm of headlines across the Hoosier state following his arrest.
The Ontario resident reported that the vapes did not contain nicotine or THC.
The anti-nausea pills belonged to an assistant coach, who had asked Pettypiece to put them in her purse during a softball game a few days before her arrest.
“We both kind of forgot about them,” the former All-American softball player told the outlet.
According to the outlet, earlier this month, Pettypiece's attorney submitted an application for dismissal, which included her description of the incident, proof of her assistant's prescription and character reference letters.
After reading the application, justice officials dropped the charges against the former athlete on September 19.
However, the damage caused by the incident “changed everything” for Pettipiece's career.
“It's a bittersweet experience,” he said. National Post“I'm happy, obviously, the charges were dismissed. The sad part is it's damaged my career. It's changed everything in my life.”
Pettypiece said her resignation as head coach of the Division I softball program five months ago has been “a living nightmare.”
“I lost my career, I lost my job, I lost the life that I was building, and that's really hard,” Pettypiece said.
The former California University of Pennsylvania student said it was heartbreaking to have her career ruined and her reputation damaged as well.
“The softball community is a cohesive group, and it (the news) spread like wildfire,” Pettypiece told the outlet.
“You really get to know who the people are that believe in you and trust you and are truly your friends,” Pettypiece said.
Pettipiece is now living in Ohio with her family.
“I'm glad my whole family is back together. I made sacrifices as a family to coach and continue my coaching career,” he said.
Although the charges against him have now been dismissed, he fears the damage done is irreparable.
“The hard thing is how can you tell people that you're innocent? And that the damage was done for such a ridiculous thing,” Pettypiece told the outlet.
“I'm not sure about the future. For now, I'll stay at home and focus on my kids. I'd like to figure out what direction I'm going to take.”
