Officials say Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg was distracted when he struck and killed a Highmore resident on the night of September 12th.
They declined to say how he was distracted, but are releasing the crash report and a photo of Ravnsborg’s car.
The report says Ravsnborg was travelling westbound and entered the north shoulder where he struck and killed Joseph Boever, who was walking on the north shoulder.
The report says Boever was carrying a flashlight. The direction he was walking is not available. Officials say the exact time of the crash is still under investigation, but the report says it was at 10:21 pm.
Department of Public Safety Secretary Craig Price says they’ve provided the Hyde County State’s Attorney with a lot of materials from the investigation. He says they’re still waiting on Boever’s autopsy from the Ramsey County, Minnesota, coroner.
“Many of the things we’re waiting on are the things we’re waiting on as far as our timeline goes. We are working as efficiently as we can because we do realize the time frame we’re looking at—as long as it’s been since the middle of September—we’re certainly continuing to stay focused on that," Price says. "Folks are keying in a putting their time towards those things. When we do have that information, it will be forwarded as quickly as possible.”
Governor Kristi Noem is declining to say whether she thinks the attorney general should resign until the investigation wraps up.
“I’m going to refrain from expressing my personal opinions until the investigation is totally complete and the states attorney makes a decision about what charges, if any, will be filed," Noem says. "Although, much of what we have has been completed now and been turned over to the state’s attorney when those final details come in, she will be making those decisions with her team on what charges would be appropriate or not.”
A toxicology taken on Attorney General Ravnsborg at 1:30 the day after the accident shows no alcohol in his system. Officials also ordered a toxicology report on Boever. The results are still pending.
