The attorney general of South Dakota is in some hot water after an incident involving a collision. Coming home from a Republican fundraiser in Redfield, Jason Ravnsborg was on a rural road when he reportedly hit a deer with his car.
While collisions with wildlife often happen and can pose many dangers for drivers, sources now say that it wasn't a deer that Jason hit. Instead, it was a person who was walking close to the road at the time.
Joseph Boever, who was 55, was killed in the accident. As a result, Jason is under investigation with the South Dakota Highway Patrol.
According to the attorney general, he was driving approximately 110 miles away from his home. When the car crashed, he assumed he had hit a large animal. Upon stopping to investigate, he tried using his phone light to identify what it was. Unfortunately, at the time, all he could see were pieces of his vehicle. The story in general sounds a little suspicious. But it seems as if Jason was quick to report the incident, albeit with what turned out to be inaccurate information.
Jason reportedly made a two-page statement in which he said he was "shocked and filled with sorrow" over what happened. He also stated that he didn't drink any alcohol before getting into his car, but it's unclear as to whether or not he was speeding. He started his drive around 9:15 p.m., and Joe was killed around 10:30.
According to USA Today, Jason released the statement due to the "many rumors and stories being told which do not represent a full and factual account of what happened." The Redfield event in question was the Spink County Lincoln Day Dinner, and he was heading home when the accident took place. As he noted, "I didn't see what I hit and stopped my vehicle immediately to investigate."
At that point, the Hyde County sheriff reportedly stopped by to investigate. The sheriff was mainly there to look at the vehicle damage and try to find the deer. At the time, neither one of them realized that Joe's body was nearby in a ditch — based on the time of night and the fact that Jason didn't spot it with his phone, it was simply missed.
Plus, the two of them weren't necessarily looking for a human body at the time. The story of the deer was what made the most sense based on the situation and location. "At no time did either of us suspect that I had been involved in an accident with a person," Jason claimed.
The attorney general reportedly borrowed the sheriff's personal vehicle to make his way back home. The next day, he and the chief of staff met up to return the vehicle and do some more investigation. It's then when they finally found Joe's body close to the scene.
"My chief of staff and I checked and it was apparent that Mr. Boever was deceased," Jason's statement said. "I immediately drove to Sheriff Volek's home to report the discovery and he accompanied me back to the scene. Once there, the sheriff instructed me that he would handle the investigation, and asked me to return to Pierre."
From there, the South Dakota Highway Patrol started its investigation as to what happened. South Dakota Department of Public Safety spokesman Tony Mangan accompanied both DPS secretary Craig Price and Governor Kristi Noem in a conference to speak about it. At that news conference, they admitted that Jason was involved in the incident.
Jason says he's been cooperating fully with the authorities. While authorities have yet to officially back up his statement regarding what happened that night, the story isn't too far-fetched. However, people have noted that Jason has a past history of speeding tickets.
The accident is grim — and it'll likely be something he'll live with for the rest of his life. According to Inforum, he was also quick to alert the media in regards to his side of the story. His statement went live just after 10 p.m. on Monday. It was reportedly sent using the account he had for his campaign.
But he also made it perfectly clear that he was willing to do whatever it took to prove it was a legitimate accident. Based solely on his statement, he seemed apologetic over what happened. "I'm deeply saddened by the tragic nature of these events, and my heartfelt condolences go out to the Boever family," he wrote.
However, he did note that he wouldn't be taking any questions about the incident at this particular time. "Once the investigation is complete I will make myself available to answer questions that may exist; however, I have full confidence in the thoroughness of the job being done by the South Dakota Highway Patrol and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation," he said. He was also willing to provide a blood draw and have investigators talk to others who were present at the dinner.
Joe's cousin, Victor Nemec, spoke up about the event to Argus Leader, and what he knew about what happened. He said he was about to help Joe fix his truck after he hit a hay bale in the ditch. Supposedly, Joe went off the road while trying to reach for the tobacco in his vehicle. Victor believes that Joe had decided not to wait for his help, and that's when he was accidentally struck and killed.
Based on his part in the story, Victor was very to the point when asked about what happened. "The attorney general hit my cousin as he was walking down the side of the road and killed him," he stated. Someone else who lived locally stated that there were no sirens or alarms or anything to let the community know something had happened.
No matter what, it's an upsetting case that has left a man dead. The unfortunate chain of events will affect many lives for years to come. And as for Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, it may be hard for the public to look at him and not think of this particular incident. Even if it was an accident, his vehicle still ended someone else's life.
