‘Bachelor’ Chris Soules Formally Charged With Felony In Fatal Iowa Crash, Could See Jail Time If Convicted

Bachelor nation was stunned and remains so after Chris Soules was arrested following a deadly crash in Aurora, Iowa, on April 24. Soules admittedly ran into the back of a tractor driven by farmer Kenneth Mosher then allegedly left the scene of the accident prior to law enforcement arriving. The legal team for Soules has made attempts to get the felony charges dropped against Chris saying he acted reasonably and provided aid and assistance to the victim until paramedics arrived. Now, it looks as though those attempts have failed.

Attorney’s and supporters of former Bachelor Chris Soules were disappointed when those recent attempts to get felony charges dismissed were denied. In their attempts to get the charges dismissed, attorneys said the reasoning behind their request was “because probable cause does not exist to support the charge against Mr. Soules, it must be dismissed.” The legal team also said, “the information provided by Mr. Soules’ during his 911 call fulfilled the requirements of the reporting statutes. Not only did Mr. Soules satisfy the letter of the law, he satisfied the spirit. He gave law enforcement on-the-spot identification and location information and reasonably provided treatment to Mr. Mosher.”

Chris did reportedly crawl out of the passenger side window of the truck he was driving and called 911 after being prompted to do so by an onlooker. According to the 911 call, Chris clearly identified himself and then proceeded to attempt to provide aid to Mr. Mosher. Soules admitted he did not know how to give CPR. The 911 operator told him she could walk him through the CPR process.

Entertainment Tonight shared the awful news that despite the motion filed by the defense, Chris was formally charged in Iowa on May 8 with a class D felony for leaving the scene of the crash that killed Mosher. According to the documents, the court decided Chris “did drive a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in the death of any person and did not immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close as possible, and/or failed to return to and remain at the scene of the accident.”

Entertainment Tonight also shared information from a source that says Chris was not intoxicated at the scene of the crash. They said he was in shock and then left the scene with a relative. There is also speculation if Chris was or was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision. With all of the media coverage of the accident involving Soules, his legal team has asked that everyone withhold judgment and allow the facts to be presented in court.

In initial court filings, the complaints against Soules included “admission/statements, caused property damage, operating motor vehicles, possessed alcoholic beverages/containers, identified by witnesses, near scene of crime and caused personal injury.” Chris has not been charged with any alcohol-related wrongdoing.

The Christian Post shared that if found guilty of the charges, Chris could face up to five years in prison along with an approximate fine of $7,000. Soules is scheduled to appear back in court on May 23 for his arraignment and to also enter a plea. Earlier this month, Kenneth Mosher was laid to rest and understandably none of the Soules family attended the services.

Soules was The Bachelor for the 2015 season, in which the Arlington farmer tried to find a love that would be willing to relocate to his farm in Iowa. At the end of the season, Chris proposed to fertility nurse Whitney Bischoff. The two seemed happy in the beginning, but their relationship fell to The Bachelor curse. Chris and Whitney parted ways less than six months after getting engaged during the final rose ceremony.

[Featured Image by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for The Kevin Carter Foundation]