Chris Soules filed an appeal with the Iowa Supreme Court on Tuesday, February 6, seeking to have a charge of leaving the scene of a fatal accident dropped before his case goes to trial.
As previously reported, The Bachelor alum, 36, was charged with a felony after the truck he was driving rear-ended a tractor being driven by Kenny Mosher, 66, in Aurora, Iowa, in April 2017. Mosher was transported to a local hospital and later died.
The former Dancing With the Stars contestant’s lawyers are asking the Supreme Court to review the merit of the charge against him, stating that Soules did not leave the scene of the accident until several minutes after calling 911 and speaking with emergency responders who “assured they had the situation in hand,” according to the Des Moines Register.
Soules’ lawyers contend that Iowa law doesn’t require drivers to wait for police in the case of a fatal crash, but state prosecutors say it does, according to KCRG. In January, a district judge refused to dismiss the charges against the former Bachelorette contestant, which could see Soules sentenced to up to five years in prison.
The Register reports that the reality TV star’s lawyers are asking the Supreme Court to judge the facts of the case before it goes to trial, writing that as Soules is “a public figure,” an “unnecessary trial” could be “even more damaging.”
“If Mr. Soules is forced to proceed to trial and then appeal, there would be no way to undo the publicity and restore Mr. Soules to his original position,” the lawyers argue, according to court documents obtained by the Register. “Addressing this questionable and fundamentally unfair charge, given these facts, prior to trial, better serves the interests of justice.”
Soules’ legal team also revealed new information about the night of the crash, citing sealed testimony. They claim in the papers that Soules was driving his pickup truck below the posted 55 mph speed limit when the crash happened.
The filing states that Soules administered CPR to Mosher and told an emergency dispatcher that “that Mr. Mosher had blood coming out of his mouth and, after performing chest compressions, found a pulse.” Soules stopped CPR and none of the other four people who arrived on the scene “nearly immediately” after the accident restarted CPR. The documents state that Soules remained on the phone with the dispatcher for more than five minutes and waited to direct emergency responders to the injured man.
As previously reported, Soules allegedly left the scene before law enforcement arrived and was arrested at his home several hours after the accident. He entered a not guilty plea to the charge against him last May.
“His attorneys are confident that once all the evidence is made public, it will show Soules acted reasonably and did everything in his power to provide aid to Mr. Mosher,” his lawyers said in a statement to Us Weekly at the time.
