SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Officials in South Dakota say state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg had no alcohol in his bloodstream when he was tested the day after his car struck and killed a pedestrian.
State officials held a news conference in Sioux Falls Tuesday to update information into the fatal car-pedestrian accident involving Ravnsborg.
Ravnsborg initially told a county sheriff that he thought he struck a deer the night of Sept. 12 on U.S. Highway 14 near Highmore in central South Dakota.
He said it was only the next morning, when he had returned to the scene, when he found he had struck a man.
The family of the man killed, 55-year-old Joseph Boever, has questioned Ravnsborg’s account.
State officials on Tuesday offered just a few of their investigative findings so far and said the inquiry could take several more weeks.
Department of Public Safety Secretary Craig Price declined to answer some questions, saying he wants to release a full report when the matter is concluded. Noem said she promised the public an update a month ago, and that her administration would release details surrounding the incident when appropriate, which led to the release of the 911 call and transcript.
In the two-minute-22-second call, Ravnsborg told the dispatcher he “hit something” that was “in the middle of the road.”
The dispatcher, after asking if Ravnsborg was off the road or if he had any injuries, asked, “Do you think it was a deer or something?”
Ravnsborg replied, “I have no idea. I mean, It could be. It was right in the roadway.”
Price says an autopsy on Boever found that his cause of death was traumatic injuries due to a pedestrian and motor vehicle crash.
Officials are working with the Hyde County State’s Attorney’s Office on whether charges are appropriate. That office has been consulting with state’s attorneys from Pennington, Minnehaha and Beadle counties.
