‘Bachelor’ star Chris Soules formally charged in fatal crash

May. 8, 2017 10:28 am, Updated: May. 8, 2017 1:25 pm

INDEPENDENCE - Reality television star Chris Soules has been formally charged in the death of Kenneth Mosher.

On Sunday, the Buchanan County Attorney's Office filed paperwork formally charging Soules with hit and run resulting in death, a Class D felony. Soules will be arraigned on the charge on May 23, but could file a written plea before that date.

Soules was arrested early on April 25 at his home in Arlington after the April 24 crash that killed Mosher, 66, of Aurora. Authorities said Soules was southbound on County Road W45 near Aurora around 8:20 p.m. when he rear-ended a tractor driven by Mosher, who later died at Mercy Hospital in Oelwein. The Buchanan County Attorney's Office later said in court documents that 'empty and partially consumed open alcoholic beverages” were found in and around Soules' truck when authorities arrived on the scene. Soules was seen purchasing alcohol shortly before the crash, according to court documents.

Soules' defense team sought to have the case dismissed, arguing their client met the legal requirements for what a person must do when involved in a lethal crash. Soules identified himself to a dispatcher and attempted to render aid to Mosher, his attorneys said, citing a 911 call released after his arrest.

Soules' attorneys also said in court documents he did not leave the scene 'until he was assured emergency personnel had the situation in hand.”

The Buchanan County Attorney's Office countered in a written resistance to the defense's motion to dismiss that Soules should have returned to the scene or told law enforcement where he could be found and that the only 'permissible reasons” for Soules to leave the scene were to seek aid or report the crash.

A ruling on the motion to dismiss has not been entered, according to court records.

If convicted, Soules could spend up to five years in prison.

Soules, 35, gained acclaim as a star on ABC's 'The Bachelor” in 2015 and also on 'Dancing with the Stars.”