DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa farmer-turned-reality television celebrity charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident is now asking the Iowa Supreme Court to dismiss the felony charge before it goes to trial.
Chris Soules, who appeared on “The Bachelor” and “Dancing With The Stars” in 2015, filed an appeal to the state’s highest court on February 6.
Soules struck a farm tractor driven by a neighboring farmer on April 24 last year in northern Iowa where he lives. He called 911 and waited for first responders but left before police arrived. The tractor driver later died.
Soules contends Iowa law doesn’t require fatal wreck surviving drivers to wait for police but state prosecutors say it does.
A judge declined last month to dismiss the charge, which carries a five-year maximum prison sentence.