Court document: Chris Soules was seen buying alcohol before fatal crash

AURORA - Reality television star Chris Soules was seen buying alcohol shortly before the crash that killed Kenneth Mosher, according to a court document filed Tuesday.

That information was included in the Buchanan County Attorney's Office response to Soules' request to have his criminal case dismissed. The two-page resistance states that while Soules did not attempt to hide his identity and involvement in the crash, he did not stay on scene to allow law enforcement to gather information about the crash, 'including a determination of intoxication and an explanation of the empty and partially consumed open alcoholic beverages located in and around his vehicle that he was seen purchasing at a convenience store shortly before the accident.”

The Buchanan County Attorney's Office is not commenting on the Soules case.

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. Mosher later died at Mercy Hospital in Oelwein and Soules was arrested on one count of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, a Class D felony.

On Monday, Soules' attorneys filed a motion to dismiss, arguing in a nine-page supporting brief that their client met the requirements under Iowa law that govern what a person must do when involved in a fatal crash. Using the 911 call Soules placed after the crash, the motion stated Soules identified himself to a dispatcher and attempted to render aid to Mosher.

'Mr. Soules did not depart the scene until he was assured emergency personnel had the situation in hand,” the brief states.

However, the Buchanan County Attorney's Office said in its response that Soules should have returned to the scene of the crash or told law enforcement where he could be found.

'Defendant did neither,” the court document states.

Court documents also contend the only 'permissible reasons” for Soules to leave the scene were to seek aid or report the crash.

'Defendant did neither after fleeing the scene,” according to the resistance to dismiss.

Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Wolfgram said last week that when deputies arrived at Soules' Fayette County home to talk to him about the crash, he refused to cooperate. Deputies - acting on the recommendation from the county attorney's office - sought a warrant for Soules' arrest. Soules complied when presented with the warrant, Wolfgram said.

The state also argues that the motion to dismiss has been filed prematurely and that such a motion should come after Soules is formally charged, which will occur when the trial information is filed at a later date.

A hearing on the motion to dismiss and resistance to that motion has not yet been scheduled.

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

Funeral services for Mosher took place Monday at the at Geilenfeld Funeral Home in Oelwein.

l Comments: (319) 398-8238; lee.hermiston@thegazette.com