The attorney general of South Dakota is facing three misdemeanor charges for hitting and killing a man with his car in September, authorities said Thursday.
Jason Ravnsborg is being charged with misdemeanors for careless driving, operating a mobile vehicle while using a mobile electronic device, and veering out of his lane, deputy Hyde County state’s attorney Emily Sovell said, according to the Associated Press. The attorney general could receive up to 30 days of jail time or a $500 fine for each charge, or both.
Ravnsborg was not using his phone when he struck and killed 55-year-old Joe Boever, authorities said. (RELATED: Man Arrested In Deadly Hit-And-Run Accident Had Been Deported Six Different Times)
In September, Ravnsborg told police that he had hit a deer while driving home from an event hosted by the South Dakota Republican Party, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) said in a news release that was reported by the Rapid City Journal at the time. Boever’s body was discovered the morning after the crash.
REPORT: South Dakota Attorney General Reported Hitting A Deer, But He Actually Hit And Killed A Man https://t.co/nrKJgRO0xx
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 14, 2020
The state will have to show that Ravnsborg “consciously and unjustifiably” disregarded a substantial risk in order to prove the manslaughter charges, Sovell said. She added that there was no evidence showing the attorney general was intoxicated when he hit Boever, and that more serious charges like vehicular homicide or manslaughter were not supported by the evidence, the Associated Press reported.
Ravnsborg said that he had not drunk any alcohol before the crash and that he is confident he did not commit any crimes. He turned over his electronic devices to investigators and provided a blood sample, which showed that there was no alcohol in the attorney general’s system. The toxicology report from the sample was reportedly taken about 15 hours after the crash.
Boever’s family said that they were frustrated that it took five months to hear whether Ravnsborg would face charges.
In November, investigators said that the attorney general was distracted when he struck Boever with his car. Prosecutors conducted a full investigation including cellphone GPS data, DNA evidence, and video footage from the route Ravnsborg had driven before deciding whether to charge the attorney general.