WTF?!? DPS: South Dakota Attorney General reported hitting a deer, but man's body discovered the next morning

jward

jward

passin' thru
[ADDED LOCATION TO THREAD TITLE - Dennis]


DPS: Attorney General reported hitting a deer, but man's body discovered the next morning
Arielle Zionts
  • 25 min ago
South Dakota's attorney general reported hitting a deer Saturday night but actually hit and killed a man whose body wasn’t discovered until the next morning, the Department of Public Safety said Monday morning.
Gov. Kristi Noem said at a Sunday afternoon press conference in Sioux Falls that Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg had been involved in a fatal crash around 10:30 p.m. Saturday near the East River town of Highmore. No other details were released.
What follows is from the DPS news release:

Ravnsborg, a 44-year-old from Pierre, was driving a sedan westbound on U.S. Highway 14 on Saturday night. He told the Hyde County Sheriff’s Office that around 10:30 p.m. he hit a deer a mile west of Highmore.

The release does not say if Ravnsborg stopped to confirm that he hit a deer or inspect his vehicle for damage. It also doesn't say if Ravnsborg called 911, the non-emergency line or someone from the office. The Journal has requested audio recordings of this call and all other calls related to the crash.


The body Joe Boever, a 55-year-old from Highmore, was discovered the next morning. The release does not say where Boever was found and who found him.
All information is preliminary at this point and the Highway Patrol continues to investigate the crash.


South Dakota’s Division of Criminal Investigation, which is part of the Attorney General’s Office, will not be investigating the crash in order to avoid the appearance or actual conflict of interest, spokesman Tim Bormann told the Journal.

Inspectors from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation — the equivalent of DCI — will be helping instead.
The attorney general had been driving home to Pierre after attending the Spink County Lincoln Day Dinner in Redfield, Bormann said. The event was hosted at Rooster’s Bar and Grill from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., according to the website of the South Dakota GOP.
Ravnsborg was not hurt in the crash, Bormann said.

This story will be updated with information from officials and the victim's family members.



Jason Ravnsborg

Jason Ravnsborg
AP Photo/Dirk Lammers, File
posted for fair use
rapidcityjournal.com

UPDATE: DPS not sharing key info about attorney general crash, investigation

The Department of Public Safety is not disclosing some key details about the investigation into the attorney general who fatally hit a man while driving after attending a Republican Party
rapidcityjournal.com rapidcityjournal.com
 
Last edited by a moderator:
V

vestige

Deceased
I have never been so drunk I could not differentiate a deer from a man but I suppose it is possible. Maybe moreso with drugs but I have never tried them
 
wvstuck

wvstuck

Only worry about what you can control!
Jason Richard Ravnsborg is an American attorney, combat veteran, and politician from the state of South Dakota. In 2018, he was elected Attorney General of South Dakota.
Born: April 12, 1976 (age 44 years),
Office: Attorney General of South Dakota since 2019
Party: Republican Party
From Wikipedia
 
Millwright

Millwright

Knuckle Dragger
_______________
Dozdoats said:
Drunk driver AND drunk victim?
Click to expand...

3A149B4D00000578-3907954-Oh_deer_This_man_dressed_up_as_a_deer_to_celebrate_the_final_day-a-68_1478497384486.jpg
 
N

NCGirl

Veteran Member
I am trying to imagine a situation that I could be sober and hit and kill a man with my vehicle and think it was a deer at this location.

Here is what it looks like 1 mile west of Highmore on hwy 14 where he thought he hit a deer.
(pulled from Google maps)


Screenshot_20200914-131835.png
 
S

summerthyme

Administrator
_______________
See... that's why I want a lot more info. *Did* the guy die from being hit? Was he possibly lying in the road and he just ran over him? What was he wearing? How fast was the AG driving? Did he suffer any damage to the vehicle? Do their state laws require any vehicle-wildlife collision to be reported immediately?

Around here, most guys will stop and look around for the deer, putting it out of its misery if they can find it and the injuries aren't survivable. But if they don't have comprehensive insurance, or the damage is limited so they don't plan on reporting it to their insurance company, they don't call the cops.

Definitely possible this guy was drunk and left the scene so he could sober up. But in that case, why would he instantly fess up to hitting the guy when the body was discovered? Doubtful there are many cameras on that road...

Summerthyme
 
jward

jward

passin' thru
Other recountings of this story emphasize that he was "leaving a republican fundraiser"
I dunno. It's weird. That's why I posted it. :: shrug ::

Fortunately forensics should be able to answer almost all questions.. . ..
 
adgal

adgal

Veteran Member
South Dakota AG says he wasn’t drinking before fatal crash
September 14, 202011:07 amKTIVSOUTH DAKOTA NEWS,SOUTH DAKOTA NEWS FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS,TOP STORIES

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg's office says he had not been drinking before he was involved in a fatal car crash.
On Monday, more details were released about the fatal accident near the town of Highmore.
According to the South Dakota Department of Safety, Ravnsborg struck a pedestrian at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday.
Ravnsborg called the Hyde County Sheriff's Office and told them he had been involved in a car-deer crash.
But Sunday morning, the pedestrian's body was discovered. He's identified as 55-year-old Joseph Boever of Highmore.
His spokesman, Tim Bormann, says Ravnsborg was driving from a Republican fundraiser in Redfield, South Dakota, to his home in Pierre on Saturday night when he was involved in the crash on U.S. Highway 14.
Bormann says that the attorney general is known to have an occasional drink, but has made it a practice not to drink at the Lincoln Day events.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol continues to investigate the crash.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
If he wasn't drinking then he was probably on his cell phone... aka distracted driving. Did the guy die immediately or slowly?
 
20Gauge

20Gauge

TB Fanatic
Crap! I just hit someone. I know, I'll report it as a deer and when they find the body there will be enough doubt that I don't get into trouble over it..... and the drinking..... and drugs.... and mistress..... and.... well you know.
 
Texican

Texican

Live Free & Die Free.... God Freedom Country....
Sad.

I have only hit one deer early one morning headed to Dallas in my F250 crew cab super duty. Bent the left corner of the bumper. Knew it was a deer for I saw it before I hit it. I turned around to make certain that it did land in the oncoming lane since it was still dark.

You know you hit a deer when you hit a deer and there will be body damage.

The AG may be in a world of hurt.

Texican....
 
ted

ted

Veteran Member
Texican said:
Sad.

I have only hit one deer early one morning headed to Dallas in my F250 crew cab super duty. Bent the left corner of the bumper. Knew it was a deer for I saw it before I hit it. I turned around to make certain that it did land in the oncoming lane since it was still dark.

You know you hit a deer when you hit a deer and there will be body damage.

The AG may be in a world of hurt.

Texican....
Click to expand...


Would be about the same for a human.
 
Macgyver

Macgyver

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Millwright said:
I got called out late last night, almost hit a black couch in the road.

It was damned hard to see....didn't notice anybody sitting on it tho.
Click to expand...
Yep, almost hit a black cow a few years ago.
Same farm that I have literally stopped at to tell them they had cow(s) in the road multiple times.
I think the cops were called so many times they finally added a hot wire to the top of the fence.
 
Josie

Josie

Has No Life - Lives on TB
Gonna withhold judgement because there are too many questions in my mind. A big question is what was the victim doing on that stretch of road at that time of night? It doesn't look like there is anything for miles around. Not making excuses for Mr. Ravnsborg but something doesn't smell right here.
 
bw

bw

Fringe Ranger
Seems odd that he would phone it in if he hit a deer. Do people do that? But if he knew he hit a person and wanted to get ahead of the story, phoning in that he hit a deer sounds like a great idea.
 
N

NCGirl

Veteran Member
Anything is possible. But assuming nothing's changed recently... the location is a straight road with open fields. You can "drive" it on Google maps. If a deer/person is laying in the road I believe I would swerve around it. If It runs/walks in front of me, I think I could tell the difference. Either way I would stop.

I've hit two deers, both at the same road near my house and both times they came out if the woods at the edge of the road and a half second later we crashed. I KNEW both times they were deer before they hit the car.

Perhaps he really did hit a deer and someone else hit the person?
 
Millwright

Millwright

Knuckle Dragger
_______________
bw said:
Seems odd that he would phone it in if he hit a deer. Do people do that? But if he knew he hit a person and wanted to get ahead of the story, phoning in that he hit a deer sounds like a great idea.
Click to expand...

It's a good idea.

I hit one an didn't call it in. This almost caused trouble with my insurance company...until the adjuster pulled hide & guts out of the bumper hook.
 
A

anna43

Veteran Member
Benefit of the doubt == you do not expect to see a human being come up on the road at 10:30 p.m. so you hit something and assume its a deer. In many parts of the country deer/car accidents are so common that no one thinks much of them. I'd also have to ask what a man was doing walking/running/jumping into the road at 10:30 at night.

My brother-in-law totaled two pickups hitting deer within a few weeks. My cousin's daughter has hit deer a half dozen times. I've had many near misses.

I laugh at signs that say watch for deer the next 10 miles because the sign could easily be posted at the borders of the state saying watch for deer in Iowa. More than a few people die as the result of deer/car accidents each year. The town where I shop has a population of 25,000 people and probably more deer. I've had to stop on a major truck route through the city for a herd of deer blocking the road.
 
Freeholder

Freeholder

This too shall pass.
Texican said:
Sad.

I have only hit one deer early one morning headed to Dallas in my F250 crew cab super duty. Bent the left corner of the bumper. Knew it was a deer for I saw it before I hit it. I turned around to make certain that it did land in the oncoming lane since it was still dark.

You know you hit a deer when you hit a deer and there will be body damage.

The AG may be in a world of hurt.

Texican....
Click to expand...

Not necessarily going to know it's a deer when you hit it. Twice I've had deer jump up out of the ditch as I was passing them and ram into the rear of my truck, doing no damage either time. But I heard them hit. I caught a glimpse of one of them, didn't see anything of the other one besides hearing the bump against the truck. Deer are stupid.

Like Summerthyme, I think I'll wait and see what the investigators find out before saying any more.

Kathleen
 
packyderms_wife

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
bw said:
Seems odd that he would phone it in if he hit a deer. Do people do that? But if he knew he hit a person and wanted to get ahead of the story, phoning in that he hit a deer sounds like a great idea.
Click to expand...

I think in some states it's required to call in if you hit wildlife, SD may be one of them. I'm not sure what the rules are here in Iowa.
 
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