Why was Hollie Strano fired? OVI arrest charge explained as meteorologist reveals she has been let go by WKYC

Meteorologist Hollie Strano was recently terminated by WKYC, where she had worked for more than 20 years. According to Strano, she was fired after she transparently shared her road to recovery. This was connected with an incident that happened in November 2023, during which Hollie was arrested for allegedly driving while being drunk.

Hollie Strano shared a post on Instagram with a caption that read:

"I am sad to share that after 22 plus years of dedicated work, WKYC and Tegna decided to terminate my employment after I shared my recovery journey publicly. I believe the actions of WKYC and Tegna demonstrate the stigma surrounding addiction that so many in our community experience every day."

She added:

"I’m continuing to prioritize my sobriety and health, and I am also so grateful for the outpouring of love and support from so many of you throughout this journey."

She further revealed that all this while she had been quite honest about her journey, and she intended to keep it that way in future as well. After the arrest happened in November, she got back to work in February this year. Upon joining back, she began appearing on Saturday and Sunday morning newscasts, and on Monday and Tuesday evenings.

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Hollie Strano was suspended from WKYC after getting arrested in November

In 2023, on Thanksgiving Day, Hollie Strano ended up crashing and flipping her SUV. She was reportedly driving at a speed of 70 miles per hour in an area where the limit was till 35 miles per hour. Fortunately, nobody sustained injuries in the crash. Cuyahoga Falls Police soon arrived at the scene and had to clock Strano. They found her with a 0.244 BAC, which was about three times the legal limit.

Strano appeared at the Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Court, and further pleaded guilty to an OVI charge. Her driving license was ceased and she was also expected to attend an intervention program for a week. This led to a suspension from WKYC as well. However, shortly after the suspension, she checked herself into a rehab. She then mentioned that the decision to do so was sort of a "divine intervention."

In November, she wrote on Instagram,

"As tragic as it was, and as cliché as it may sound. I believe that [the crash] had to happen to me to put me on the healing journey of sobriety and introspection."

After spending some time in the rehab undergoing the program, she returned to her job earlier this year. On April 12, she shared a post on Instagram, in which she explained that she was already 133 days sober. She further wrote,

"I never knew something so hard would lead to so much joy. To all of you fighting your own fight, please know happiness is on the other side."

While Hollie Strano has accused WKYC and Tegna of firing her for being too transparent about her journey to recovery, the companies have not yet made any statements related to this.