South Dakota attorney general impeached after fatal 2020 car crash
The South Dakota House of Representative has voted to impeach state Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, who left the scene after he fatally struck a pedestrian while driving home from GOP fundraiser in September 2020.
State lawmakers voted 36-31 on Tuesday to oust Ravnsborg, paving the way for his trial before the Senate, which could lead to his permanent removal from office. He is the first South Dakota official ever to be impeached.
The proceedings stem from a deadly crash on a dark road on Sept. 12, 2020.
Ravnsborg was driving a 2011 Ford Taurus westbound on U.S. Highway 14, just outside of Highmore, when he struck 55-year-old Joseph Boever just after 10:30 p.m. The attorney general immediately phoned 911, initially telling dispatchers he hit “something,” most likely a deer, but that he could not find it after the crash.
When he returned to the site the following morning, Ravnsborg discovered Boever dead in a ditch. He later pleaded no contest to a pair of traffic misdemeanor counts as part of a deal, which ultimately allowed him to avoid jailtime.
While each charge carried a maximum sentence of 30 days behind bars, a judge only ordered that the state’s top prosecutor pay $500 fines for each count and another $3,742 to cover court costs.
The Senate must wait at least 20 days before holding a trial. They will be tasked with determining whether Ravnsborg was responsible for Boever’s death and whether or not he misled law enforcement officers in the aftermath of the crash.
Investigators have alleged the elected official was reading news articles on his phone, leaving him distracted in the moments before he ran off the road. Ravnsborg’s claims that he did not realize he’d struck a person have also faced scrutiny.
A recording of his interview with law enforcement that night revealed Boever’s glasses were discovered inside Ravnsborg’s car — though the attorney general denied seeing them.
“His face was in your windshield, Jason,” a detective said to him in one of the recordings. “Think about that.”
With News Wire Services
