New details have emerged regarding the arrest of Chris Soules on Monday morning.
Some paint the former Bachelor star in better light than initially believed, while others likely won’t do Soules any favors when it comes to public perception.
First, TMZ has obtained the audio of the 911 call Soules made to authorities shortly after his pickup truck slammed into the back of a tractor being driven by a neighbor in Iowa on Sunday night.
The neighbor’s name was Kenneth Mosher; he was 68 years old; Soules reportedly knew him and his family; and he was pronounced dead at a local hospital as a result of injuries suffered in the crash.
As previously noted, Soules drove away from the crash site and was therefore arrested a few hours later on a charge of leaving the scene of a fatal car crash that left one individual dead.
But he did call 911 first.
Soules is clearly out of breath in the call (below), but he remains coherent.
He tells the dispatcher that an accident has occurred and a man has been throw into a ditch.
The ex-reality star goes on to say he checked the man’s pulse… that the man was bleeding from the mouth… and that someone was performing CPR on the victim while Soules spoke to the operator.
Listen for yourself:
It’s apparent others are in the vicinity during the call, meaning there were many witnesses present when Soules fled the scene.
Second, according to audio of a call made by police officers to dispatch, cops were aware from the outset that Soules was the individual who slammed into the tractor.
They phoned the department to say they were in pursuit of Soules and his red pickup.
The third new piece of information, however, is where things get especially sordid and damaging for Soules.
Both TMZ and People Magazine confirm that the former ABC star refused to leave his home after Sheriff’s deputies arrived.
After the aforementioned witnesses identified Soules as the driver, Iowa State Patrol officer drove over to Soules’ home, which is located about 15 miles away from where the accident took place.
Law enforcement officials say two deputies knocked on the door and asked Soules to come out. But he refused.
This is why Soules was not actually taken into custody until just past 1 a.m. on Monday:
Because it took authorities several hours to be granted a search warrant.
Soules was not charged with DUI at the time of his arrest, but officers did find beer cans inside of his truck.
They drew blood from the star after they brought him down to the precinct, but it’s unlikely any alcohol will show up in Soules’ system due to the time that elapsed between the crash and when he was arrested.
Soules, meanwhile, made his first court appearance on Tuesday afternoon at an Iowa courthouse.
He was let go from jail after posting $ 10,000 bond, but not before a prosecutor said the following in front of a judge, in regard to the aftermath of the accident:
“Mr. Soules would not come out of the home. It took hours to get a search warrant to retrieve Mr. Soules from inside of that house in order to continue the investigation. That took hours.
“At no point did Mr. Soules come out of the house, or cooperate with law enforcement at any point in trying to get in contact with him regarding this individual and the [fatal] accident.”
Soules may still be charged with vehicular manslaughter.
An investigation is underway, although it may take up to a month to complete and then the results will then be forwarded to the prosecutor’s officer for a decision.
Following his arrest, Soules issued the following statement through a spokesman:
Chris Soules was involved in an accident Monday evening (April 24) in a rural part of Iowa near his home.
He was devastated to learn that Kenneth Mosher, the other person in the accident, passed away. His thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Mosher’s family.