One item could determine 'Bachelor' Chris Soules' future in aftermath of fatal car crash
There's one item that could determine former "Bachelor" Chris Soules' future in the aftermath of the fatal car crash he was involved in on Monday night: His cell phone.
According to a new TMZ report, law enforcement officials are in possession of Soules' phone and will be scouring his texts, social media and photos to determine whether or not he was distracted while driving his Chevy pickup truck before he crashed into a John Deere tractor.
The investigation could result in potential vehicular manslaughter charges against Soules, whose accident resulted in the death of Kenneth Mosher, the man who was driving the tractor that night in Iowa.
Though Soules has since deleted his Twitter and Instagram accounts, authorities will have access to everything in his cell phone. If officials find that he wasn't using his cell phone, he'll most likely be prosecuted for leaving the scene of a deadly accident, though sources close to the situation predict that Soules won't ultimately face jail time.
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Another contributing factor of the case will be Soules' celebrity status. The 35-year-old Iowa native was on Andi Dorfman's season of "The Bachelorette" before starring on the 19th season of "The Bachelor" in 2015. He later appeared on "Dancing With the Stars" and has since been a constant presence on "Bachelor"-related programming.
Sources told TMZ that prosecutors won't want to come across as being lenient when it comes to crimes involving celebrities, though they also admit that local jurors could be sympathetic to Soules' situation. Skid marks at the scene of the crime indicate that Soules did attempt to brake before hitting the tractor, and he also checked Mosher's pulse before leaving the scene of the crime.
On Wednesday, Soules' five-minute 911 call was released. In the leaked audio, Soules admits that he "rear-ended a guy on a tractor" and that he wasn't conscious at the time of the call.
Chris Soules was released from Buchanan County Jail in Iowa after posting a $10,000 bond, and he will appear again in court in May 2.
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