Val Chmerkovskiy Weighs in on DWTS Alum Chris Soules' Deadly Car Crash: 'I've Tried to Reach Out'
One week has passed since Chris Soules was involved in collision that left another man dead, and those that knew the former Bachelor star are still reeling.
PEOPLE caught up with Dancing with the Stars Valentin Chmerkovskiy after Monday’s episode of the dance competition series, and the dance pro revealed that he’s made attempts to contact Soules in the days since the reality star was arrested and charged with allegedly leaving the scene of the fatal car crash in Iowa on April 24. (Soules, 35, competed on season 20 alongside pro Witney Carson in 2015. Chmerkovskiy, 31, ultimately took home the Mirrorball Trophy that year with his partner Rumer Willis.)
“It’s so crazy how quickly life can change in an instant,” said Chmerkovskiy. “It’s terrible. I don’t really have much to say except for that it’s a terrible, terrible situation.”
Chmerkovskiy admitted he didn’t know “all the details” of the incident and maintained that while he wasn’t “vouching” for Soules, he’s still “an amazing guy.”
“The tragedy is obviously the life lost and the family that it impacts, but Chris is one of the nicest, most genuine people I’ve ever met,” he said. “We actually became friends and kept in touch after the show. You don’t want to see such bad things happen to great people.”
“I tried to reach out [to him],” he added. “I think there’s so much going on in his life that I might not be his first priority, but I’m going to keep trying to reach out. ... It’s really hard to comprehend.”
RELATED VIDEO: Distraught Chris Soules Checked Car Crash Victim’s Pulse in 911 Call
On Monday, Soules’ legal representation filed documents to dismiss the felony charge he’s facing for allegedly leaving the scene of the crash.
According to documents obtained by PEOPLE, Soules’ legal team is asking the court to recognize that he did everything he was legally required to do following the collision last week, in which he crashed his truck into a tractor, running it off the road into a ditch and leaving 66-year-old Vietnam veteran Kenneth E. Mosher dead. (Following the collision, Soules called 911 before allegedly leaving the scene before authorities arrived and being picked up by an unidentified driver in a red pickup truck.)
The motion came in the midst of ongoing mourning for Mosher, who was laid to rest on Monday in Madison Township Cemetery near Aurora, Iowa.
Soules was released from prison after posting bail on a $10,000 bond the day after the crash and issued a statement via a spokesperson: “Chris Soules was involved in an accident Monday evening (April 24) in a rural part of Iowa near his home,” reads the statement obtained by PEOPLE. “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.”
Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays (8 p.m. ET) on ABC.
