More than two years after being arrested for leaving the scene of a deadly car crash, former Bachelor star Chris Soules has accepted probation and will not serve jail time.
According to Radar Online, Chris accepted a suspended two-year prison sentence on Friday and will instead serve two years on probation.
As The Ashley previously reported, the Season 19 ‘Bachelor’—– who first appeared on Andi Dorfman’s season of The Bachelorette and later on Dancing with the Stars—– rear-ended a John Deere tractor with his pickup truck near his Arlington, Iowa, farm in April 2017. The accident resulted in the death of Chris’ 66-year-old neighbor Kenneth Mosher, who was taken by ambulance to a hospital after the crash, where he later died.
While Chris did make a call to 911 at the scene of the crash, he reportedly left before authorities responded and was later tracked down at his home. Chris was booked into the Buchanan County Jail and charged with leaving the scene of an accident; he bonded out shortly after.
In November of 2018, Chris entered a conditional guilty plea to a reduced misdemeanor charge. He was due to be sentenced in May of this year; however, his sentencing was postponed due to his lawyers objecting to the victim impact statements being included in his pre-sentencing report. While prosecutors objected, the judge overseeing Chris’ case ultimately ruled in his favor.
“Death did not occur at a result of the offense,” the judge decided. “We’re here for leaving the scene of the accident offense. I am granting the motion to strike the statements and I will not consider them for sentencing.”
According to documents obtained by Radar, a new investigation filed July 19, 2019 without the victim-impact statements concludes “[Chris] receive a suspended two-year term of incarceration.” By signing the new agreement, Chris reportedly waived his right to appear for sentencing and a formal judgment has not yet been entered.
RELATED STORY: New Details Emerge About ‘Bachelor’ Chris Soules’ Deadly Crash: Hear Chris’ 911 Call
(Photos: Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images; Buchanan County Sheriffs Office via Getty Images; Instagram)
14 Responses
I wonder how much punishment Chris would have gotten if the witness took photos of the open alcohol containers in Chris’ truck?
Probation?! POS!
Has he ever said his reasoning for leaving the scene??? Ridiculous!!
Word is he was drunk. He went home after the crash (or wherever he was staying) and at that point, enough reasonable doubt can be thrown in to say he started drinking when he got home.
This guy is a piece of shit, through and through.
Sorry to hear all this happened.
First of all, the DCI did test his blood and urine and there were no detectable traces of alcohol or drugs. Second of all, it obvious none of you are from Iowa or have ever come up upon a tractor on the road at dusk. I’ve lived here my entire life – 40 yrs – and am still surprised sometimes at how quickly you have to slow down for a tractor. Add to that the setting sun and Soules may not have even seen the tractor until the last minute. Seems to me to be a tragic accident.
So you probably take precaution knowing that you could come upon one at any time. Chris is just a few years younger than you and also from Iowa. He should know better. All he knows now is he can get away with murder because he’s a “celebrity.”
This is a travesty of justice indeed. Unbelievable that a man died because of his actions and he gets to go free. Sad commentary on our justice system.
Sadly this is our justice system – have enough money to hire a good lawyer and you can get away with murder
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STILL trying to say that there’s not 2 “justice” systems in this country? There’s rich and there’s poor and if you have to ask which one you’re in, you’re in the second one. If most people had done this, they would have been sitting in jail on no bond while they waited for trial where the inevitable guilty verdict was decided before the court ever even heard the case.
Imagine someone killing you and they only serve two years probation. Smdh That’s a travesty of justice. Seriously.
Well, if that isn’t threading a smaller than small needle. So exactly did the man driving the tractor die from? Heat exhaustion, perhaps? The deadliest DUI school bus crash to date was the same kind of needle. Nobody was killed because of the accident. The school bus had a defective gas tank that caught the bus on fire. That driver got 16 years but he wasn’t the bachelor, he was just a good ole country boy.
While I think it is perfectly clear for anyone with a brain to conclude he was drunk and that’s the reason he left the scene, what the judge is saying is that Chris was never charged with a DUI offense, he was charged with a leaving the scene of an accident offense. So technically the offense of leaving the scene did not result in the man’s death (the accident did). And seriously what a coward, Chris Soules!
My understanding is Chris called 911, he even gave his name, he probably truly believe the guy would be fine with medical care. I think after the call, as time went by, Chris saw the guy wasn’t all right and knew he had been drinking, so he fled the scene then hid out in his house and refused to leave until the cops came back with a warrant. Supposedly a witness at the scene said she saw empty alcohol cans/bottles – but since he fled, the cops don’t have proof. Same with a breathalyzer and/or blood draw, too much time had passes to verify he was intoxicated.