After initially reporting he hit a deer while driving home on Saturday evening only to find out he struck and killed a man with his vehicle, South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg now says he discovered a man’s body at the scene the next morning.
Ravnsborg, a Republican, released a statement from his campaign email address Monday evening, though on the letterhead of the state’s Office of Attorney General, saying he wanted to provide clarification after seeing “many rumors and stories being told and reported which do not represent a full and factual account of what happened.”
Ravnsborg said he left a county dinner for Republican Party members that was held at a bar, where he claims he did not consume alcoholic beverages, for the city of Pierre at 9:15 p.m. While driving, he said his car “struck something” on a highway, which turned out to be 55-year-old Joseph Boever. But Ravnsborg said he initially believed he hit a large animal and “immediately” called 911 to report the accident.
“I looked around the vehicle in the dark and saw nothing to indicate what I had hit. All I could see were pieces of my vehicle laying on and around the roadway. Because it was dark and I didn’t have a flashlight, I used my cell phone flashlight to survey the ditch but couldn’t see anything,” Ravnsborg said.
Hyde County Sheriff Mike Volek surveyed the scene, filled out “necessary paperwork,” and loaned Ravnsborg his personal car to drive home, according to the statement. Ravnsborg said he and his chief of staff left home to return Volek’s car the next morning and stopped at the scene. Ravnsborg said it was then that he “discovered the body of Mr. Boever in the grass just off the roadway.” The statement said Ravnsborg then continued to drive to Volek’s home to report the matter.
Ravnsborg said he is “cooperating fully with the investigation” into the incident, including agreeing to a search of both his cellphones and providing a sample of his blood. He also said he sat with law enforcement agents for an interview.
“I am providing this information to try and dispel some of the rumor and innuendo that are being spread in the wake of this tragedy,” the statement said. Ravnsborg added that he will not answer additional questions.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said on Sunday that Ravnsborg was involved in a fatal crash and that she asked the South Dakota Department of Public Safety to investigate.
“I am shocked and filled with sorrow following the events of last night. As Governor Noem stated, I am fully cooperating with the investigation and I fully intend to continue do so moving forward. At this time I offer my deepest sympathy and condolences to the family,” Ravnsborg said in his initial statement.
The investigation is being handled by the South Dakota Highway Patrol and is receiving assistance from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, which took over the role of the state’s criminal investigation division typically handled by the attorney general’s office to avoid conflicts of interest.
