It’s been nearly two-and-a-half years since former BachelorChris Souleswas involved in a fatal accident near his Iowa farm and now, the 37-year-old is opening up for the first time about the incident and its painful aftermath.
Opening up about what happened on that fateful day is emotional for Soules, as he contended with numerous false stories in the media about the accident, including that he had been drinking, and that he didn’t do everything he could do save Mosher’s life.
Chloe Aftel
For Soules, who became a household name as the star ofThe Bachelorin 2015 (his engagement to his pick, Whitney Bischoff,endedafter six months), April 24, 2017 began as a normal day.
The farmer worked on a broken down planter, surveyed his property and then, in the evening, set out in his pickup truck to pick up one of his workers from one end of the family’s sprawling farmland and take him to headquarters.
What followed is still a blur. “The next thing you know, I’m coming to inside my pickup,” says Soules, who cannot discuss certain specifics of the incident due to a recent civil settlement with the Mosher family. “I heard a voice [of a man who had witnessed the accident] saying, ‘Call 911.’ ” On the phone with the emergency dispatcher, Soules, who identified himself on the call, walked over to Mosher, who was unconscious, and per the dispatcher’s instructions, began administering CPR.
Geilenfeld Funeral Home
“I was giving chest compressions and continued to do CPR until eventually I spat out [Mosher’s] blood,” says Soules. “He coughed up blood in my mouth. At that point I thought it didn’t seem to be doing a lot of good. I was scared. And I remember thinking he might not make it.” When the paramedics arrived, “I remember praying [that he would be okay].”
“I was out of my mind,” says Soules. “I felt like I did everything in my power when I was there and I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t know what happened. I didn’t know anything. I just knew it was really bad and I was scared.”
Upon the advice of his parents, whom he called on the way home, Soules phoned an attorney, who instructed him not to talk to police until the attorney was present.
“I just followed his instructions,” says Soules. “And I wasn’t expecting police at my door. In hindsight, I was charged with a crime. But I really didn’t know that there were grounds for arrest at that point.”
Chris Soules.Kelly Wenzel/The Courier/AP
“I saw some dark times,” he says. “I’m in the middle of nowhere as it is and I was even deeper in the isolation and the guilt. I thought many times that it would have been easier on the other side.”
But eventually, with the help of family and friends, Soules has been able to look toward the future, and hopes that, now that the legal chapter of the accident is closed, he can come together with the Mosher family to mourn the loss of their husband and father.
“I’ll live with [what happened] forever,” says Soules. “But I will carry on, and as a result of the tragedy, do something bigger and better with my life.”
source: people.com
