A South Dakota attorney general will not be charged after killing a man in a hit-and-run after officials said there were insufficient grounds to remove him from office.
Jason Ravnsborg, 45, was not charged Monday, a year and a half after he killed Joseph Boever, 55, in a hit and run on September 12, 2020 while Boever was walking on a freeway near the small town of Highmore. He told 911 dispatchers he thought he hit a deer and only found out it was a man after he returned to the scene the next morning.
On Monday, a special investigative committee of the South Dakota House of Representatives held a closed meeting to discuss whether or not Ravnsborg should be charged in what would have been the first impeachment trial in the state’s history. The committee retorted, saying there were insufficient grounds to impeach him, with six out of eight members voting against impeachment.
“The Special Committee finds under a clear and convincing standard that Attorney General Ravnsborg has not committed a misdemeanor in office as he has not committed a crime or any other wrongful act involving a moral reproach due to or authority of his office,” it said on Monday according to the daily beast.
The entire South Dakota House of Representatives will meet on April 12 to decide whether to adopt the committee’s report.
Jason Ravnsborg, 45, (pictured) was not charged Monday, a year and a half after he killed Joseph Boever, 55, in a hit and run on September 12, 2020. On Monday, a special investigative committee of the South Dakota House of Representatives held a closed session and said there were insufficient grounds to impeach him, with six of the eight members voting against impeachment
Boever (pictured) was walking along a highway near the small town of Highmore. Ravnsborg told 911 dispatchers that he thought he hit a deer and only found out it was a man the next morning when he returned to the scene.
The AG did not know he had met Boever until he saw his body on the side of the road the next morning when he was returning Sheriff Mike Volek’s car to him, although Boever’s glasses were found in the car
Gov. Kristi Noem slammed the decision, stating: “Jason Ravnsborg killed a man, lied to investigators about what happened that night and tried to cover it up,” Noem said. “Joseph Boever’s family deserves justice.”
Talks about Ravnsborg’s impeachment began in February after Noem released the video of the AG stumbling through an interview with investigators. He was charged with three misdemeanors and pleaded no contest being dismissed for reckless driving on two counts. He twice paid $500 in court fees and $3,000 in court fees. He also had to take part in a district driving course.
He also reached an out-of-court settlement with the Boever family. Widow Jenny Boever and Ranvsborg confirmed their settlement in February without disclosing the amounts.
Matthew Tysdal, an attorney for Jenny, and Mike Deaver, a spokesman for Ravnborg, confirmed the agreement but declined to disclose terms.
“They have reached an agreement with the insurance company and Mr Ravnsborg,” Ravnsborg spokesman Deaver told The Associated Press.
The car the AG was driving had extensive damage where Boever’s body was struck
Relatives Nick and Victor Nemec surveyed the area after the crash. Nick said on Tuesday he was “disappointed” on Tuesday and called the ruling a “party line vote”.
“It was pretty quick. So there will be no civil lawsuits or anything like that as it was an accident.’
Ravnsborg was driving home to Pierre, 49 miles west of Highmore, from a political fundraiser when he met Boever on US 14.
A toxicology test conducted 15 hours after the accident found no alcohol in his system, and no one at the event saw him drinking, NPR reported. Prosecutors said Ranvsborg had been cooperative in the investigation.
They also said Ravnsborg was on his phone about a minute before the crash, but phone records showed it was locked at the moment of impact.
Ravnsborg told investigators that the last thing he remembered before the impact was turning off the radio and looking at his speedometer.
The attorney general told 911 dispatchers that he only realized Boever was a man and not a deer when he found his body at the crash site the next morning after returning Sheriff Mike Volek’s car.
The video shows detectives suspecting that Boever’s body hit Ravnsborg’s windshield so hard that part of Boever’s glasses ended up in the back seat.
“These are Joe’s glasses,” said an investigator, according to Sioux City’s KMEG.
Ravnsborg replied: ‘I was wondering, worried, wondering about it.’
“So that means his face came through your windshield,” the investigator said.
He apologized to the victim’s family in August and released a statement saying he was very sorry that Joe Boever died in the accident. I feel sorry for the whole family that she lost her loved one and that he wishes they had met “under different circumstances”. He then spoke about his achievements in office. The AG is standing for re-election.
Governor Kristi Noem (pictured in February) is calling for Rovnsborg to step down and she was also the one who released video footage of the AG speaking to investigators
The state House of Representatives (pictured) will confirm the committee’s decision on April 12
“I don’t know what the Lord has in store for me, but I trust in him. As I continue my service as Attorney General, I will continue to fight for you as I have since the day I took office. May God bless each of you, and may God continue to bless South Dakota,” he said at the time.
The family now supports the Ravnsborg governor’s demands for his resignation.
“I’m disappointed,” Nick Nemec, the victim’s cousin who was with Jenny at the time of the crash, told the Daily Beast on Tuesday. “I was hoping that some of the Republicans on the committee would vote to impeach. But it was a direct party line vote.’ Six Republicans on the committee voted against impeachment.
Nemec also said he expects the House of Representatives to move forward with the committee’s recommendation
“I’m not hopeful at all,” he told the Daily Beast.
The AG’s attorney, Tim Rensch, called his client an “honorable man” in September and said the case was “not a case of murder or manslaughter.”
“Accidents happen, people die. It shouldn’t happen. Nobody wants anyone to die,” he said.