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PIERRE, SD (AP) – The Republican Attorney General of South Dakota has been charged with reckless driving after hitting and killing a man with his car, authorities said Thursday.
Jason Ravnsborg is also facing misdemeanor charges for operating a motor vehicle using a mobile electronic device and leaving his lane, said Emily Sovell, Hyde County’s deputy lawyer. Authorities said he was not on the phone at the time of the crash.
Each charge carries a maximum of 30 days in jail and / or a fine of $ 500, Sovell said.
Sovell said the evidence did not support more serious felony charges such as driving homicide or manslaughter. She noted that there was no evidence that Ravnsborg was intoxicated at the time of the crash. She also said that in order to prove manslaughter, the state should have shown that Ravnsborg “knowingly and without justification” failed to consider a substantial risk.
Ravnsborg said he was convinced he had not committed a crime and was not drinking before the accident. He provided a blood sample and handed over his electronic devices to investigators. Toxicology report of sample taken approximately 15 hours after accident showed no alcohol in the Ravnsborg system.
Boever’s family questioned Ravnsborg’s account and expressed frustration to the five-month wait to see if he would face charges.
Beadle County State Attorney Michael Moore, who assisted in the case, said the Boever family had been advised of the decision in advance.
“They obviously don’t like our decision in this case, but as we all know the victims are not making that decision,” Moore said. Later, pressed by a reporter, Moore added, “I don’t feel good, but it’s the right decision.”
Ravnsborg, who was elected for his first term in 2018, first told authorities he believed he struck a deer or other large animal on his way home to Pierre after a Republican fundraiser late on the 12th. September. He said he did not know he had killed a man until he returned to the scene of the accident the next day.
Crash investigators said in November Ravnsborg was distracted when he veered onto the shoulder of the highway where Joseph Boever, 55, was walking. But prosecutors took months longer to make an indictment decision in the crash, launching an investigation that examined cellphone GPS data, video footage along the Ravnsborg route and DNA evidence.
A Wyoming crash reconstruction expert and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations assisted the South Dakota Highway Patrol in the investigation. Such accidents would normally be investigated by the South Dakota Criminal Investigation Bureau, which reports to the Attorney General’s office. The other agencies conducted the investigation to avoid a conflict of interest.
South Dakota law requires pedestrians to walk on the side of the road facing oncoming traffic when walking near freeways like the one where the accident occurred.
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This story has been corrected to remove an erroneous mention that Ravnsborg could face up to a year in prison; The prosecutor said each of the three offenses was punishable by up to 30 days in prison and a fine.
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