Update: South Dakota Standard reports the victim of the fatal crash in Hyde County Saturday night was Joe Boever, cousin of Hyde County farmer and former legislator Nick Nemec.
In some states, that’s called vehicular manslaughter. Let’s see what South Dakota law enforcement calls it.
Nemec tells SD Standard that investigators blocked the highway for 22 hours, were taking measurements, and had drones in the air.
——original post——
On Friday, the Department of Public Safety posted information about a fatal car crash in Brown County just hours after it happened:
WHAT: Two-vehicle crash
Where: 391st Avenue and 123rd Street
Five miles west of Columbia, S.D.
When: 10:13 a.m., Friday, Sept. 11, 2020
Driver No 1: Female, 57, Fatal Injuries
Vehicle: 2013 Dodge Journey
Driver No. 2: Male, 41, Serious Non-Life Threatening Injuries
Vehicle: 2005 Peterbilt Conventional 379 Semi-Truck and Trailer
COLUMBIA, S.D. – One person died and another was injured in a two-vehicle crash Friday morning west of Columbia.
Names of the two people involved are not yet being released pending notification of family members.
A 2013 Dodge Journey was northbound on 391st Avenue when it failed to stop for a posted stop sign at the intersection with 123rd Street. The vehicle was struck in the intersection by a 2005 Peterbilt Conventional 379 semi-truck and trailer, which was westbound on 123rd Street.
The 57-year-old female driver of the Dodge was pronounced dead at the scene. The 41-year-old male driver of the semi-truck received serious non-life threatening injuries. He was airlifted to an Aberdeen hospital.
Both drivers were wearing seat belts.
South Dakota Highway Patrol continues to investigate the crash. All information is only preliminary at this time.
The Highway Patrol is part of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety [Department of Public Safety, press release, 2020.09.11].
On Sunday, DPS posted similar details about a fatal Bennett County crash that took place Saturday:
WHAT: One Vehicle Crash
Where: South Dakota Highway 73, mile marker 10
Two miles south of Martin, S.D.
When: 1 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2020
Driver: Male, 35, Fatal Injuries
Vehicle: 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup
MARTIN, S.D. – One man died Saturday afternoon in a one-vehicle crash south of Martin.
The name of the person is not yet being released pending notification of family members. He was the only person involved.
A 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup was southbound on South Dakota Highway 73 when the driver lost control. The vehicle eventually went into the east ditch and rolled.
The 35-year-old male driver was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
South Dakota’s Highway Patrol continues to investigate the crash. All information is only preliminary at this point.
The Highway Patrol is part of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety [DPS, press release, 2020.09.13].
But on Sunday, DPS Secretary Craig Price refused to provide similar information about a fatal car crash that took place Saturday night in Hyde County:
Price welcomed questions from reporters at the press briefing, but answered no queries presented to him.
“As with any investigation, there are a lot of questions that we can’t answer. That would be one of those questions,” he said in response to one reporter’s question.
Following a second question, Price said, “There’s so many things you can’t comment on specific to that. There are a lot of details that are going to be run down as with any fatal crash that’s investigated and that information will be available at a later time.”
When asked about the age and gender of the fatality and how many vehicles were involved, he said, “We know that the attorney general was involved. The rest of it is being investigated and those details will come out at a later time” [David Lias, “South Dakota AG Ravnsborg Involved in Fatal Car Accident,” Yankton Press and Dakotan, 2020.09.13].
Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg was involved in this fatal crash. He’s not dead; he made the 9-1-1 call after the crash. Whatever happened Saturday night on the way home from the Spink County Lincoln Day Dinner in Redfield must be really complicated, because when KSFY went out to look at the crash site near Highmore Sunday evening, the Highway Patrol and possibly inspectors from the North Dakota Bureau of Investigation still had the crash site on Highway 14 blocked off and multiple vehicles and staff on site around a damaged white pickup truck in the ditch. (Maybe we’ve finally found the white pickup truck from the GEAR UP/Westerhuis scandal.)
I guess law enforcement is just like the rest of us: we pay a lot more attention to a car crash when it involves a prominent public figure.
Did they find his car down in the ditch with the damaged white pickup? What time did he can 911? Was he texting? Is there any deer fur on any of the vehicles? Lots of questions.
I am saddened to hear about this, Joe Boever was my cousin, a very decent man. Let’s see how the Noem administration spins this one.
Would not surprise me to find out South Dakota codified law will emancipate Ravnsborg from any responsibility because he was acting in his capacity as a state officer at the time of the wreck.
Notice no mention of driver impairment has been issued.
My deepest condolences to Mr Nemec and Jenny for your loss
Indeed, condolences for you Jenny and for Nick Nemec and all your families. Something tells me that drugs or alcohol or both were involved in this for it to be reported the way it was.
Have heard that he has hit a lot of deer over the years. Perhaps his night vision is no good.
Thank you, jerry and MFI! Your kind words mean a lot. I have had enough of 2020, I think we all have.
WTF C!?!?!?! This is irresponsible and more intellectually dishonest writing. A life was lost, an investigation must happen but because you despise our State AG so bad you write something like this? Shame on you.
Very sorry for your loss, Jenny. My condolences to your extended family, and sorry that Nick had to ID his cousin; I don’t want to imagine what Nick and his brother are feeling right now. Agreed that 2020 has been full to the brim with suck.
Notified the next of kin after Noem’s announcement? Why, that’s kind of a break from the SDGOP’s current operating procedure of telling you ahead of time they are going to kill you.
No one knows what happeded at all yet, jumping to all these conlusions is just wrong and shameful.
There is no “irresponsible” reporting or “intellectually dishonest writing” here, Steve. It is an account of a tragic accident which resulted in the death of a man and the horrific experience two of his relatives had in identifying the body of their loved one. The State agencies need to be extra careful in handling the investigation because the AG is directly involved. There is no need for shaming.
Looks like the pickup hit a bale the day before so that’s why damaged in the ditch. He was walking to go fix it or something.
Gee, This makes me think of Wild Bill Janklow. He killed a person while driving and ended up serving how many days in the Moody County Jail?
I hear Jason was returning from a Repub shindig. I hear people drink alcohol at those things.
Back on August 24, the mother of my Great Grandgirlie ran a stop sign onto Hiway 75 near Doon and broadsided a Jeep with a 35 year old Sioux Falls woman driving. Unfortunately, the lady was killed instantly while my GGG and her Mother were not hurt.
Looks like the perp may face manslaughter charges as she never slowed down for the stop sign. She may have been texting. What a waste of young lives.
WTF, Ravnsborg told Hyde County Sheriff’s Office that he had been involved in a car-deer crash. ???
According to Argus Leader
Plenty of time to de-tox to a legal BAC.
On twitter, notable Brown County Republican Char Cornelius says Ravnsborg was not drinking.
What Curt said: I reported the facts as available through various sources online.
Then they won’t mind releasing the breathalyzer test
More reporting that will bug Steve in his blinding love for Jason Ravsnborg:
Body was discovered Sunday morning.
Something is totally off here. The authorities don’t find my cousin until Sunday Morning when the accident happened 1030pm the night before? Why would Ravnsborg think it was a deer he hit instead of a person? Was a breathalyser taken? Is Ravnsborg known to drink? Of course in SD it will next to impossible to get any answers.
Steve, Cory is NOT doing anything dishonest here. He is reporting the news and with SDs history of secrecy and hidden corruption one tends to be leery when it comes to accidents involving high profile Republicans.
I’ve seen deer on the road at night. I’ve hit at least one. Each time, I recognized it was deer, not human. The antlers and four legs were dead giveaways.
Condolences to all parties. No one here comes out on top.
Yet, episodes such as this show there are 2 standards under one law. We are not all equal under the law. The fact that SD treated the scene, it’s announcements, and called in an out-of-state investigation also shows that the South Dakotans KNOW that we are not all equal under the law; and that the South Dakotans are incapable of an equitable administration of justice. Calling in out-of-staters to administer the investigation, and de facto administer justice reduces the trust and faith we citizens have in South Dakota’s equitable investigation and administration of justice. South Dakota’s actions are a megaphone that it is incapable and unwilling to treat us all equitably, fairly investigate, and administer justice. It appears the corruption, real and pretend confilcts in South Dakota government are too deep so as to preclude officials from beginning to carry out their sworn duties to protect and defend the constitutions.
The FBI doesn’t call in the US Marshal Service to investigate the FBI. South Dakotans need to find their oaths of office along with their spines.
Ravnsborg’s personal Twitter account is under suspension. Ravnsborg’s AG Twitter has been silent since last Monday.
Ravnsborg’s last post on Facebook was Friday, September 11, when at 11:01 p.m. he posted the “Friday Fugitive,” 3rd-degree rapist Kristopher Gregory Compton.
A SD Pierre official who loves spending time outdoors doesn’t stop & get the deer?
41-1-5.7. Disposition of deer and antelope killed by motor vehicle. If any deer or antelope is killed by a motor vehicle on a public highway, any person who desires to possess that animal shall notify a conservation officer, as defined by § 41-15-10, prior to taking possession of the animal. The conservation officer may give a dated and written authorization allowing possession of the animal. The conservation officer may give verbal authorization to take immediate possession of the animal prior to receipt of the written authorization. The written authorization allows the possession and disposal of the animal. The written authorization shall remain with the carcass while in processing or storage. No part of an animal so obtained may be sold, bartered or traded. There is no fee for the issuance of such authorization.
Here is my guess on why its taking so long to get the info you so badly need Cory. B/c you are a man of the press you just cant wait. They are bringing outside agencies to investigate this so its iron clad. Just be patient. This isn’t an episode of CSI here….
Cory, When you hit those three deer, did you call the police or did you call your insurance company?
Did he not stop?
Geezus.
Exactly from where did he call 9 1 1 ?
Ravnsborg was not drinking.
Was she in his vehicle on his way home?
I have hit deer and always stopped to make sure they were dead. I hit one by Deadwood some years ago and as it was an icy road, there was no harm no foul to the animal and little damage at all to the car, but still, I stopped to check it out. I’ve seen other motorists do the same, even with coyotes they’ve hit. Hard for me to imagine that you would hit something and not see what damage you did to your outfit and if whatever you hit was dead, I always have a tire iron in the car or pickup for that reason.
Yahoo news carried the Ravnsborg story and so did the NYT, but there is likely a paywall in there.
https://news.yahoo.com/south-dakota-attorney-general-involved-045612442.html
Did he say if it was a doe or a buck? That he would have noticed, if he really thought it was a deer.
I met my wife at that bar in Redfield in 1977. I know he says he wasn’t drinking, just speeding. The attorney general has a BS degree from the U too. He has bad eyesight at the very least, a man doesn’t look very much like a deer. I’m from Highmore also, so it’s strange. I was born in Trent where wild Bill killed a person riding a motorcycle. Does every pub speed?
@jerry Yup, kind of a missed opportunity for the AG.
41-1-12. Euthanasia of animal injured in motor vehicle accident.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who has seriously injured a wildlife animal in a motor vehicle accident or any person who comes upon a wildlife animal that has been seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident may euthanize the seriously injured animal so that it will not suffer needlessly if that person has the means, skill, and will to euthanize the animal humanely.
Source: SL 2013, ch 207, § 1.
Imo, it is time for some of that personal responsibility republicans are always bragging about. Whether speeding, drunk or sober, he killed a man. It was a hit and run. He needs to resign. Yesterday.
https://twitter.com/Argus911/status/1305575852604784640?fbclid=IwAR22rgR4RwbDo5XQNoZg888COyWjWwPwbrnr0322EteXyXvb-UKeMMjvNLE
Oof. He was definitely driving on the shoulder when he hit the guy.
Ravnsborg had 2 speeding tickets in iowa, One in Cherokee county and the other in Lyon co. besides the six in South Dakota.
I suspect Ravnsborg was drinking at the shindig (especially after seeing the tire tracks). But we’ll never know, because “I hit a deer” meant he could just go home and sleep it off.
Rapid City Journal headline Monday Sept 14 2020:
“AG uninjured in fatal East River crash”
That headline is repugnant…A man died and their headline reports cheers for Ravnsborg?
Kinda tells you where this investigation is going….
He was driving a Ford Taurus. Deer or human, in a mid-sized sedan with your headlights on and your wits about you, I’d think you’d see what you hit.
Regardless of his physical condition or speed he was traveling, there can be little doubt that at minimum he was guilty of “distracted driving” at the time of the accident.
How did he know he “hit a deer?” It could have been a cow, or a big dog, or a hog or a person. Who would hit something that big and not stop to see what it was you hit. I have hit a squirrel and knew it was a squirrel. I hit a raccoon with an airliner, at nite, at over 120 mph and knew it was a raccoon. I am not a lawyer, but I bet I could distinguish a person from a deer 9 times out of 10. !@#%^&*
Now FBI involved?
cis, Here is the new updated Rapid City Journal headline UPDATE: DPS not sharing key info about Attorney General crash, investigation
There. This is a very good well written article that goes into a lot of detail. One thing that I’ve noticed has been that the Journal has some pretty good writers and seem to be on top of things in the state. I wouldn’t be a subscriber if I thought differently.
I don’t know about the FBI, but the Rapid City Journal reports that the North Dakota DCI is investigating this to try to remove any doubt of the seriousness of the investigation.
I get deer and people confused all the time. One year I though I had filled all my tags, only to find out I had murdered a family of backpackers : (
A lawyer friend points to relevant South Dakota laws on vehicular accidents and accident reports:
32-34-3. Duty of vehicle operator to stop in case of accident–Information given–Aid to injured persons.
The driver of any vehicle involved in any accident resulting in injury or death to any person or damage to property shall immediately stop and give his name and address, and the name and address of the owner and the license number of the vehicle he is driving to the person struck or the driver or occupants of any vehicle collided with and shall render to any person injured in such accident reasonable assistance, including the carrying of such person to a physician or surgeon for medical treatment if it is apparent that such treatment is necessary or is requested by the injured person.
32-34-5. Hit and run accident resulting in death or injury as felony.
Any driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury or death to any person, who fails immediately to stop such vehicle at the scene of such accident and comply with the provisions of § 32-34-3 is guilty of a Class 6 felony, and the Department of Revenue shall revoke the registration receipt of the person so convicted.
32-34-7. Duty to give immediate notice of accident to law enforcement officer–Violation as misdemeanor.
The driver of any motor vehicle involved in an accident resulting in bodily injuries or death to any person or property damage to an apparent extent of one thousand dollars or more to any one person’s property or two thousand dollars per accident shall immediately, by the quickest means of communication, give notice of the accident to the nearest available law enforcement officer who has jurisdiction. A violation of this section is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
32-34-13. Accident reports not privileged–Fees for locating and furnishing reports.
Reports pursuant to §§ 32-34-7 to 32-34-12, inclusive, and the information contained in such reports is not privileged and may not be held confidential. The secretary of public safety shall collect four dollars for each request to locate a report on file. The secretary shall furnish to any person requesting a search, at no additional cost, any report located by the search. All sums collected shall be deposited in the state highway fund.
And from the chapter on reckless and unsafe driving:
32-24-1. Definition of reckless driving–Misdemeanor.
Any person who drives any vehicle upon a highway, alley, public park, recreational area, or upon the property of a public or private school, college, or university carelessly and heedlessly in disregard of the rights or safety of others, or without due caution and circumspection and at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger or be likely to endanger any person or property, is guilty of reckless driving. Reckless driving is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
32-24-8. Definition of careless driving–Misdemeanor.
Any person who drives any vehicle upon a highway, alley, public park, recreational area, or upon the property of a public or private school, college, or university carelessly and without due caution, at a speed or in a manner so as to endanger any person or property, not amounting to reckless driving as defined in § 32-24-1, is guilty of careless driving. Careless driving is a Class 2 misdemeanor.
Dicta, as long as you drug them all in your house you could claim self defense.
The Department of Public Safety issued this press release on the accident today:
South Dakota law enforcement is the pits.
https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/update-dps-not-sharing-key-info-about-attorney-general-crash-investigation/article_d30c1f03-6e69-577d-9b0c-08106a963b60.html
Sounds like they gave the Nemec bros the wingnut runaround and for no good reason. Fire them all.
The North Dakota DCI? To remove any doubt of the seriousness of the investigation? I blew my gin and tonic through my nose at that.
Nick Nemec tells the Rapid City Journal that the accident scene was a half-mile west of the US 14/SD 47 intersection on the west edge of Highmore. He says Joe Boever’s truck, which sat in the ditch where Boever had hit a hay bale earlier Saturday, was another half-mile west of the accident scene.
The white pickup shown in KSFY’s Sunday evening report thus appears to be Boever’s truck and appears to have had nothing to do with Ravnsborg’s deadly accident itself. Yet the Highway Patrol refused to let Boever’s relatives recover the truck. Instead, SDHP has confiscated Boever’s vehicle:
No word from any source on whether the Highway Patrol has confiscated Jason Ravnsborg’s car, the one actually involved in the fatal accident.
South Dakota case law should provide ample information of similar vehicle incidents like Bill Janklow as an example. Jason should not get 100 days and community service though. Because of his position, there should be an example set for this. You simply cannot think you can mow down a human being and drive away without so much as a look back.
What may be of interest is who, if anyone, was in the car with him. I’m kind of curious on that as that may be eye opening. I think of the old days of Chappaquiddick and how all of that was and my mind begins to wander.
I have hit several deer over the years. little chance that you can drive away without any damage. i have hit deer with grillguards on my pickup and still had considerable damage. a car would have lots of damage. i hope we get to see pictures of the car.
if you do not get the red tag for your vehicle, you have lots of explaining to do if you are pulled over. i can not imagine not getting stopped before he got home because ever time i have hit a deer at least one headlight will fail within a few minutes due to the impact.
This is just total BS! What would they need my dead cousin’s pickup for when it had nothing to do with the actual accident?
Joe Boever’s family needs to ask for hair follicle testing to be done immediately on Ravnsborg. It’s a newer technology that can detect blood alcohol levels.
Who can you turn to for justice when SD is a one party system that protects their own?
This is just so pathetically sad and disturbing.
I just wanted to share this snippet of Ravnsborg from when he presented at an Aberdeen City Council meeting back in January. The intelligence of this man needs to be questioned. After making through his scare tactics about marijuana, pay very close attention to the very last thing that he says before exiting stage left. Here is a link to the snippets: https://streamable.com/mwq5vr
Here is the link to the replay of the city council meeting where you can grasp his other comments in context. Skip ahead to 4.29 to hear his entire presentation: https://youtu.be/7icZhwGpVcs
I’m so sorry Jenny.
I offered my condolences to Nick on FB. He described inexcusable obfuscation by the cops. They didn’t tell him his cousin was dead, kept jerking him around until finally allowing them to identify the body.
SD could have invited Minnesota to do the investigating. Ha. A real and honest investigation is the very last thing the SDGOP is going to allow.
As with the rest of you DFPers, I don’t trust the SD government to handle this honestly. We all know about Gear Up deaths, the EB5 “suicide,” Janklow’s mere 100 days, and so on. The uber corrupt state isn’t changing. It’s only getting worse.
They better pull the logs on his phone. Not only will it tell if Ravsbutt was on the phone at the time he killed Mr. Boever, it will also show who he called first. Who is the SDGOP’s fixer, their Michael Cohen? I’m willing to bet that he did not call law enforcement first to report the killing. Did he call Kruel Kristi? Jackley? Lederman?
Apparently, Ravnsborg and a staffer found the body the next morning. https://www.dakotanewsnow.com/2020/09/15/south-dakota-attorney-general-releases-statement-following-fatal-crash/?fbclid=IwAR1et-BTb8Ko0FkkoQbvGGA-oRsclKD4kYStJJhekp1Gxb0qw9QE3b38Ahw
Recent reports, including a letter from Ravnsborg about the incident, are that Ravnsborg did stop, contact the local Sheriff by driving to his home, and returned with the Sheriff to look for whatever had been hit. The Sheriff then loaned Ravnsborg a personal vehicle to drive home to Pierre because Ravnsborg’s vehicle was damaged too badly to drive. Ravnborg also apparently had a blood draw at some point.
https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/ravnsborg-says-he-found-mans-body-on-sunday-after-an-unsuccessful-search-the-night-before/article_c52c32b1-4fbf-5e3b-9591-a8db32feaa4e.html#utm_source=rapidcityjournal.com&utm_campaign=/newsletter-templates/news-alert&utm_medium=PostUp&utm_content=23cec0bcd45764865e0126434fbda7815feaa9d4
This is all very simple. The AG caused the death of a human being. I believe this is what should happen. He should resign. He should be disbarred. He should plead guilty for his actions. He should receive a sentence of 10 years, 3 years 4 months incarceration, the rest probation. The same sentence most other South Dakotan’s would receive under similar circumstances.
bearcreekbat: Thank you for sharing the RC Journal article/reporting. Is anyone else curious as to why Ravnsborg sent out his statement from his campaign email without the knowledge of his chief of staff? And why Ravnsborg has now retained a new “spokesman” specifically for this matter?
One problem with the “I thought I hit an animal” explanation is that people normally don’t hit any animals unless the animal is in the road or runs out on the road in front of the vehicle. Absent some evidence that the victim in this case was standing or walking in the road late at night in the face of oncoming headlights, the most rational inference seems to be that the vehicle went on to the shoulder and hit the victim.
If it is true that Ravnsborg had not been drinking alcohol, other explanations could include falling asleep or nodding off at the wheel, distracted driving (looking away from the road), overdriving road conditions, or ???
Since drivers are not normally permitted to drive on the shoulder or outside the white line along the shoulder (assuming highway 14 has a shoulder and white lines marking it at the scene of the collision) such possible explanations lead the conclusion that Ravnsborg should be held personally accountable, perhaps both civilly and criminally, for this unfortunate death. I have seen nothing so far indicating it was somehow merely an “unavoidable” accident.
From the AP: “I didn’t see him with anything but a Coke,” said state Sen. Brock Greenfield.
Well there’s a highly impeachable source. 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄 🙄
>State Sen. Brock Greenfield, who also attended the dinner, said, “I didn’t see him with anything but Coke.”
Umm… If he spoke the words, how do we know which kind of coke?
Coke is a good mixer, Lord Calvert, Rum, etc.
Good one, Leigh. Plus, there is the little fact that Coca-cola has often been used in mixed drinks… Rum & Coke was a staple in suburban households in the early 60s.
One thing still bothers me, Victor Nemec had stated he didn’t think his cousin had time to walk from town to his truck and then head back to town when he was struck, which would have him walking on the North shoulder going West towards his truck, walking with traffic.
If true, does that give a weasel an escape route from liability? I am certain wingnuts in power will be exploring this in order to save their brethren’s pasty white arse.