AG faces careless-driving count in death
PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota’s Republican attorney general has been charged with misdemeanor careless driving after he struck and killed a man with his car, authorities said Thursday.
Jason Ravnsborg also is facing misdemeanor charges of operating a motor vehicle while using a mobile electronic device and veering out of his lane, Emily Sovell, deputy Hyde County state’s attorney, announced. Authorities said he was not on his phone at the time of the crash.
Ravnsborg, who was elected to his first term in 2018, initially told authorities he thought he had struck a deer or another large animal as he drove home to Pierre from a Republican fundraiser late on Sept. 12. He said he didn’t realize he had killed a man, 55-year-old Joseph Boever, until he returned to the accident scene the next day.
Sovell said the evidence didn’t support more serious felony charges such as vehicular homicide or manslaughter. She noted that nothing showed Ravnsborg was intoxicated at the time of the crash.
Ravnsborg has said he is confident he did not commit a crime, provided a blood sample and handed over his electronic devices to investigators. A toxicology report from a sample taken roughly 15 hours after the crash showed no alcohol in Ravnsborg’s system.
Beadle County State’s Attorney Michael Moore, who helped with the case, said the Boever family had been told of the decision beforehand.
“They obviously don’t like our decision in this case, but as we all know, victims don’t make this decision,” Moore said. Later, pressed by a reporter, Moore added: “I don’t feel good about it, but it’s the right decision.”