Chris Soules to claim diminished capacity due to medical condition from injuries in fatal crash

CEDAR RAPIDS - Former reality TV star Chris Soules will claim diminished capacity based on an existing medical condition as a result of injuries sustained, and mistake of law/or fact, according to a court document filed last Friday.

The notice of defense filed in Buchanan County doesn't explain his 'then existing medical condition.” The court document also didn't explain the 'mistake of law” but Soules' lawyers asked the court last month to toss out his charge, arguing he did what the law required.

Soules, 35, of rural Arlington, is charged with leaving the scene of the fatal crash that killed 66-year-old Kenneth Mosher, of Aurora, on April 24. Authorities said Soules' truck rear-ended Mosher's tractor on Slater Avenue, north of Aurora, and that Soules left before law enforcement arrived.

Court documents show 'empty and partially consumed open alcoholic beverages” were found in and around Soules' truck when first responders arrived on the scene. Soules also was seen purchasing alcohol before the crash.

Soules' lawyers, however, has said two separate urine and blood samples, tested by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Crime Lab, were negative for drugs or alcohol.

Authorities said after leaving the crash scene, Soules returned home and refused to exit his home until authorities had obtained a search warrant. Soules was not taken into custody for several hours after the crash.

Soules' lawyer last month asked First Judicial District Judge Andrea Dryer to toss out the charge. The defense argued he called 911, identified himself to dispatchers and performed CPR on Mosher before leaving.

The prosecution argued the law requires drivers to remain at the scene and allows only two reasons a driver can leave a fatal crash - to seek help or to report the emergency to law enforcement.

Judge Dryer hasn't ruled on the motion to dismiss.

Soules' trial is set for Jan. 18. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.

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