Chris Soules vs Bruce Jenner A lesson in what to do at the scene of an accident

​I was reading this morning about Chris Soules a former contestant on the Bachelor. He went from having 30 beautiful women fawning all over him to pleading guilty to leaving the scene of an accident.  According to an article at the website https://www.usmagazine.com Chris was driving home from the store and he rear ended a farm tractor being driven by his neighbor. Both the truck Chris was driving and the tractor ended up in a ditch on the side of the road. The driver of the tractor got thrown off his vehicle and sadly passed away. After making a call to 911 Mr. Soules left the scene of the accident before talking with the authorities.
This story made me think about another fatal accident that involved another celebrity Bruce Jenner. Jenner prior to his transition to becoming Caitlyn also rear ended a vehicle that also resulted in a death.  The difference was that Jenner stayed at the scene of the accident and answered all of the investigators questions. No criminal case was brought against him, the case was closed and it was ruled an accident.
I’m sure Jenner’s auto insurance company ended up paying out a large amount of money to cover the liability claims from the accident but he didn’t face any criminal investigation and he did not go to jail.
Unfortunately, this was not the same situation for Mr. Soules. His lawyers were able to get his charges reduced and he plead guilty to “leaving the scene of a personal injury accident”. Chris Soules did about 90% of what he was supposed to do. He pulled over, he called 911 and he took responsibility for causing the accident. But, after hanging up with 911 he drove off in his red Duramax pickup before the officers could talk to him. He was later arrested at his home and tested for drugs and alcohol which came back negative.
It was later revealed on US Weekly that Chris's parents ended up paying out 2.5 million dollars to cover the liability claim to the victim's family. Why would his parents be on the hook for paying out this claim? My bet is the vehicle Chris was driving was registered to his parents, or Chris was still on his parents auto insurance policy. Either way that was the connection that led to his parents paying out for this accident.
The round number paid out makes me think the parents had an Umbrella policy for 2 million dollars and the underlying auto insurance limit of 500 thousand. That would mean that the insurance company wrote the check for the 2.5 million. At least I would hope they had an umbrella policy. Otherwise you could soon see a farm in Iowa along with all their belongings going on the market. 
This is a good reminder that it is your responsibility to stay at the scene of an accident if someone gets injured until the police show up. If it is just a property damage accident you need to exchange auto insurance information and then you can leave. The same thing applies to hitting a car in a parking lot. You are responsible for leaving a note and if you don’t you are committing a crime.  It is also another reminder that having an Umbrella policy is really important to protect your assets.
I know that being nice and doing the right thing seems to be getting lost on the world these days. Especially, when your president loves to insult people and doesn’t take responsibility for his own actions. But, doing the right thing will keep you out of prison people. In Chris Soules case not only did Chris destroy the lives of a family with this unfortunate accident he also ruined according to his website http://www.chrissoules.com his aspirations for being a spokesperson for the American Farmer.  And the American Farmers really could use a voice these days.
Accidents happen, that’s why we carry car insurance.  As always make sure you are protecting your assets with proper liability coverage. And if you have an accident do the right thing. 951-395-0754