Yesterday, we reported that former Bachelor contestant Chris Soules was arrested for fleeing the scene of a fatal traffic accident.
In the 24 hours since, each new detail that’s emerged has only made the situation even more tragic.
We now know that Soules knew the victim, a 66-year-old farmer named Kenneth Mosher.
Sources close to the case say Mosher was driving his tractor when he was rear-ended by Soules.
His tractor was reportedly forced into a ditch, and Mosher was killed almost immediately when it flipped over.
Attorneys for Soules say the 35-year-old was not aware that Mosher had passed away when he left the scene.
While the fact that Soules fled and failed to contact authorities may mean serious trouble for the former reality star, authorities say there is no reason to believe that Soules was intoxicated or engaging in distracted driving.
After his arraignment Tuesday morning, Soules was freed on $ 10,000 bond.
He’s seemingly in damage control mode today, having deleted all of his social media accounts.
Those closest to Soules, including two of his former Bachelor franchise co-stars are now speaking out on the situation.
Soules got engaged to Whitney Bischoff following his season on the show, but the relationship was soured after the cameras were turned off, and Bischoff is now engaged to a man named Ricky Angel.
But while she has little contact with Soules these days, she still offered some words of support in a statement issued last night:
“This is a very sad situation,” Bischoff told People magazine. “I’m keeping everyone in my thoughts and prayers, especially the victim and his family.”
Former Bachelorette contestant Luke Pell says he became close with Soules due to their ties to the franchise and similar backgrounds.
He offered a statement on Soules current situation yesterday:
“Chris by far is one of my closest friends from the Bachelor family. We’ve got similar backgrounds growing up in small towns and everything so we have a lot in common and relate a lot on our backgrounds,” Luke shared with E! News exclusively.
“I’ve gotten to know Chris and he’s just a great guy that loves people who is very sincere and genuine. That’s what hooks me is that, man, I just hate to hear that such a great person is having to go through a struggle like this.”
He added:
“It’s tough and super unfortunate and [I’m] just sad that it happened.”
Pell is taking some flak for his failure to mention the victim, but he’s right that is in indeed a tragic situation all around.
We’ll have further updates on this story as more information becomes available.