The South Dakota Attorney General reported hitting a deer Saturday night but had actually killed man

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

[Yeehah]

1. Who the hell reports it to the cops when they hit a deer?

On Monday, the South Dakota Department of Public Safety said Ravnsborg reported hitting a deer with his 2011 Ford Taurus to the Hyde County Sheriff’s Office after the crash at 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/family-identifies-fatal-crash-victim-involving-sd-ag-questions-why-it-took-so-long-to-identify-body/

Who can't tell the difference between a human being and a deer?

Scumbag lying republican probably will get away with it.

[localroger]

4. In fairness, the (extensive) damage is very similar

between deer strikes and hit-and-run. And he may have reported it so there would be a police report for the insurance company.

Now that they know there was a human victim they will probably do a forensic analysis of the damage to the car, which might tell them just how the collision occurred.

[Klaralven]

47. He probably just sideswiped Boever at a high rate of speed, and Joe died slowly overnight

Reminder to all to always walk facing traffic on the left side of the road.

[haele]

5. Does SD have a reporting requirement to the Highway patrol if damage is over a certain amount?

It's also a 2011 Taurus - could it have been a state vehicle?
The damage for hitting something at highway speed can be pretty nasty, especially if what you hit was thrown up onto the hood and/or windshield. There's really no way to hide it.

Haele

[safeinOhio]

12. Insurance claim requires

a police report.

[Yeehah]

36. Says who?

I've hit deer and never filed a police report and had my claim paid.

[safeinOhio]

39. State of South Dakota

Requires a police report on any accident that causes $1,000 or more damage.

If your car is worth less than that you might not have to.

[greenjar_01]

80. Thought he mighta had a grand in damage but never slowed down

Come on, now.

[safeinOhio]

81. Sounds like he may have

known that dear.....I mean deer.

[gibraltar72]

22. Well as an ex insurance agent.

I'd say almost everyone. At least in Michigan. I've hit 4 personally even once on Motorcycle. Once was taken to hospital to be checked out, Airbags are hell. He was undoubtedly drinking, as first report I read said he didn't remember drinking anything at the party.

[sure why not]

44. GET DEER WHISTLES!

About $5.00 at Walmart. They really work. The deer can't get out of your way fast enough.
Can't help the dead guy tho'
Just sayin'

On edit:
Amazon has them too, so you don't have to go to Walmart.
I highly recommend them for all of your cars, trucks & RV's.

[efhmc]

48. They do not work

[sure why not]

51. Then you are doing it wrong.

There is a Left & a Right & if applied correctly, they work perfectly.
I have used them for years, and seen how well they work many times.
Cheapest insurance I have ever bought.
REALLY!

[efhmc]

57. I live in Texas and have hit numerous deer over the year in numerous vehicles. I have had those

whistles and have not had those whistles on various of my vehicles. Matters not. Oh, and btw I can read, write and tell right from left. Also with the amount of accidents that are rampant in the state during deer season (you have about at least a month's wait for repairs) the insurance companies would require those whistles on all of their insured vehicles.

[Yeehah]

60. Okey doke

I live in a very rural part of WV and it's not common to report hitting a deer, as long as your car's not totaled or something. It's a very commonplace occurrence and the sherriif's department really doesn't want to hear about it.

HOWEVER, if you hit a bear, the DNR wants that reported.

[forgotmylogin]

34. A deer hit can total a car.

Often it requires towing and removal of the carcass if it's still in the road. Some of the stags are enormous.

And police report for insurance.

[Squidly]

82. Heck, I've had a raccoon cause thousands in damage

took out the ground effects on my front bumper, cracked my radiator and messed up the passenger side quarter panel and wheel well. Nowdays it doesn't take much to cause a few grand in damage

[TheBlackAdder]

46. I hit a deer and had a police report. Luckily the damage was under my insurance deductible.

.

While he says he wasn't drinking, he could have been impaired.

Standard police procedure is to run toxicology tests whenever there is a traffic fatality or serious hospitalization.

My question is: Was one performed?

.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

58. "Who can't tell the difference"? Drunk drivers. . . . nt

[flotsam]

2. Here's the thing

In his defense, he was probably to drunk to tell the difference (sarcasm). How about a charge for negligent homicide for not checking on the "deer". He left the guy CAUSING his death unless he was killed outright on impact.

[Renew Deal]

32. If he was drunk, it's murder.

So I'm guessing he's taking his chances.

[central scrutinizer]

3. Thoughts and prayers

Oughta cover it.

[mysteryowl]

30. Here he is from a year ago touting "tough on drugs"

[McKim]

37. Glad He is Against Drugs!

Glad he is against drugs! Alcohol is a drug and from his face he seems like he is a regular.

[IronLionZion]

40. Who needs drugs when this dude kills people on the road. nt

[mysteryowl]

45. He could have been texting?

[intheflow]

52. Or on prescribed meds.

Lots of legal drugs advise not operating heavy machinery. However it happened, he needs to be charged with something for killing a person and filing a false police report about it. It’s messed up all around and I feel so sad for the victim’s family.

[Solly Mack]

6. According to a local paper, the AG also has a history of speeding and other traffic violations.

https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/crime/2020/09/14/jason-ravnsborg-south-dakota-attorney-general-crash-speeding/5792808002/

South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, who was involved in a fatal crash this weekend, has a history of speeding and other traffic violations, according to a background check.

[SledDriver]

10. A top law enforcement official with a history of breaking the law??

What's that? A Republican? Oh, that explains it.

[Solly Mack]

15. I don't hold much confidence in any investigation.

[Klaralven]

14. ND investigators also working the case - From the argusleader:

Tony Mangan, spokesperson for the Highway Patrol, said at the direction of the governor, the Highway Patrol is leading the investigation. The attorney general’s office said investigators from North Dakota are also in South Dakota and assisting in the crash investigation due to the conflict created by Ravnsborg’s role overseeing the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.

[Solly Mack]

16. I read that. We'll see.

[Ms. Toad]

68. 6 tickets

2 @ 5 mph over
2 @ 10 mph over
1 @ 15 mph over
1 @ 20 mph over

Other offenses = seat belt and muffler.

Hardly hanging offenses.

I try to stick within the speed limit - but it's a rare day my daughter and spouse don't hit 15 mph over at least once. I've got a bad muffler at the moment - my shop couldn't get to it when we first noticed it and I've been too busy to get in since then.

[Solly Mack]

69. That's factual. Speeding is not a hanging offense.

It's also factual to say the man has a history of speeding and other traffic violations (in several counties). Of which you outlined. Which the article also stated.


I'm prone to speeding on highways. One ticket ever for speeding. Did get tickets for driving without a license when I was too young to drive. Knew how but it's still illegal it seems. Small fine. Good to go.

So, I do have a history of speeding, just not a documented one. One incident officially - in decades. And I do have a history of traffic violations - just not since I've been legal. They don't even show up on a check. Guess they don't count - officially.

[Ms. Toad]

73. My spouse has virtually no traffic tickets in the last decade

My daughter had at least a half dozen when she first started driving - to the point at which she was risking her driver's license - but none recently.

Both of them have lead feet.

I've gotten two in my entire life (one when I was going less than 10 mph; the other for a school zone in an unfamiliar area with the school zone signs obscured by trees). I tend to stick pretty close to the speed limit.

So - a lot of it is luck, and the number of tickets is not necessarily proportional to whether you are a perpetual scofflaw or not. Anyone who passes through Linndale Ohio can tell you that - they used to make make a substantial portion of their revenue from the 422 yards of I-71 within their borders. 80% of their $1 million budget came from speeding tickets and other matters handled by hte local mayor's court.

If the tickets were DUIs, I'd take notice. Speeding tickets - not so much.

[Solly Mack]

74. The DOJ investigated one of the towns in this Parish over speed/traffic stops.

Back when Obama was President.

They got into trouble for their revenue making schemes.

[Ms. Toad]

77. Unfortunately it was litigated multiple times -

and Linndale kept winning.

[Drahthaardogs]

75. Speeding sucks and endangers everyone else on the road

They are engineered to be safe at a certain speed. I have no sympathy for aggressive drivers. Risky behavior that could be solved by leaving 5 minutes earlier. Just because your spouse and daughter do it, doesn’t make it safe or right

[Ms. Toad]

78. I take it you don't drive much.

Especially on highways, barely anyone travels at or below the speed limit. It is actually more aggressive to drive at the speed limit than to go with the flow of traffic (which, on any highway I've been on, is at leat 5 mph over the speed limit and more frequently 10 mph over).

If you travel a the speed limit you are typically tailgated by drivers trying to go with the flow of traffic, and often have road rage drivers dive in in front of you and slam on your brakes. Since I stick pretty close to the speed limit, I have plenty of experience with this phenomenon.

As for being engineered to be safe at a certain speed - nonsense. Our current speed limits are largely the product of rising fuel prices in the 70s - and federal bribes to keep the speed limits low through the early 90s. They have crept up since 1995 when the Federal government decided to pull back from regulating state speed limits. But you are fooling yourself if you beleive that - as a general rule - speed limits are based on road engineering. You need look no farther than the dramatically different speeds on either side of the border between states to realize the speeds are not based on safety engineering.

[Drahthaardogs]

79. Bullshit

You lecture people all the time. Told me how awful it was that I hoarded antibiotics during a pandemic and used your daughter as an example

Meanwhile your husband and daughter engage is statistically significant riskier behavior and laugh it off as a “lead foot” wink. Wink.

Just lost all credibility..,

[samsingh]

7. are repugs now the party of liars all the time?

[2naSalit]

28. That's been true for decades now.

[Historic NY]

8. How do you offer condolences before the person was identified?

"We've got questions why it took so long to contact us," Nemec said. "Was our cousin laying dead on the highway for nearly a day while they were investigating? I don't know."

Ravnsborg issued a statement shortly after Noem's announcement, stating he was "shocked and filled with sorrow" following the crash and was fully cooperating with the investigation. He also offered his "deepest sympathy and condolences to the family."

The timing and contents of Ravnsborg's statement "irritated the hell" out of Nemec, he said.

"He offered his condolences to the family of the victim before they even knew who the victim was," he said. "I saw that statement sometime Sunday afternoon, at kind of the same time we were coming to the realization that the victim was our cousin, and he already offered a statement of condolences to the family, and he didn't even know who the family was, because we hadn't identified the body yet."




[link:https://www.inforum.com/news/government-and-politics/6660099-Man-killed-in-SD-Attorney-General-Ravnsborg-crash-was-walking-to-truck-cousin-says|

[WhiteTara]

9. I saw this movie!

Who knew that stupid republicons would follow the script?

So above the law, he reported he hit a deer, and he didn't stop to check either. So when he called the police the next day he had a chance to sober up and he already knew he had killed another human being. I hope he rots. Of course he had above the limit alcohol in his blood.

[GusBob]

13. Didnt this happen before with another corrupt guy?

[Spazito]

17. Yep, another rethug politician...

Thomas W Druce, a repub member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives:


"In July 1999 while driving, Druce struck and killed 42-year-old Harrisburg pedestrian Kenneth Cains, an African-American former US Marine.

After attempting to cover his tracks by repairing his Jeep SUV, filing a false accident claim with his insurance company and lying to police, Druce eventually pled guilty to a hit and run for leaving the scene of an accident, as well as insurance fraud and tampering with evidence.

Although he admitted to a night of drinking before the hit-and-run, he was able to avoid additional drunk driving charges because too much time had passed to test his blood-alcohol level. He was sentenced to two to four years at SCI Laurel Highlands.[4][5]

This crime was the subject of an episode of Forensic Files titled "Capitol Crimes".[6]"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_W._Druce

Note the similarities in all too many ways.

[GusBob]

18. No it was in SD

Bill Janklow

That guy was rotten to the core

[Spazito]

19. Ahhh, so many corrupt rethugs, hard to single out just one, lol. n/t

[cwydro]

21. To be fair, it's happened to our politicians too.

One very famous incident comes to mind.

The rich and powerful have ways of getting out of things the rest of us would not.

[Spazito]

25. So is your point to do the 'both sides do it' thing?

I've never found that to be particularly persuasive especially when it starts with 'to be fair'.

[cwydro]

53. Of course not, I just hate hypocrisy.

It tends to run rampant around here every now and then.

I think ANYONE guilty of this sort of thing should pay the piper.

[Spazito]

56. Posting an OP about a repug politician killing a pedestrian...

without adding Democrats do it too is hypocrisy to you? Pointing out in a post that it is not that rare to have repub politicians involved in similar crimes without doing the 'both sides do it' as well denotes hypocrisy to you. Huh, interesting.

I look forward to more of your 'both sides do it' posts, I am sure I will find them enlightening.

[bullwinkle428]

38. I've seen that "Forensic Files" episode!

[Spazito]

41. I saw it as well, that is what I remembered when I read Gusbob's question...

so I went hunting for that episode to get the details again, ended up on wiki, lol.

[WhiteTara]

29. Yes. I think that one was a state senator

republicon, of course.

[SunnyATT]

55. I didn't see the movie but......

Those were my thoughts too (but I think he called the police before the next day.) Never-the-less, this stinks to high heavens. You hit something (in this case someone) with your car and just assume it was a deer? You don't even check to see what you hit. Maybe I'm being cynical but I think he knew he hit someone and called the police to cover his a**!

[WhiteTara]

72. the next day so they couldn't

get his blood alcohol content.

[Faux pas]

11. Kickin' with disgust!

And rage

[USALiberal]

20. He was legally drunk I assume, and nothing will happen. nt

[CloudWatcher]

23. When satire is just too close to reality ....

"that sounded like a human thunk" ... why we shouldn't worry about ANYTHING

Blaire Erskine

[bucolic_frolic]

24. What did he see, and when didn't he see it?

I mean, night time driving, headlights, paying attention to the road. Who doesn't see what's going on in the road? And stop to investigate?

drunk drivers, texting drivers, or both.

[dalton99a]

26. "Was our cousin laying dead on the highway for nearly a day while they were investigating?"

https://www.mitchellrepublic.com/news/government-and-politics/6660099-Man-killed-in-SD-Attorney-General-Ravnsborg-crash-was-walking-to-truck-cousin-says

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg struck and killed Highmore, S.D., resident Joe Boever, 55, while driving on U.S. Highway 14 near Highmore the evening of Sept. 12, a family member and authorities have confirmed.

Nick Nemec, Boever's cousin and a former Democratic state legislator, said he went with his brother Victor to identify the body at 8 p.m. Sunday, nearly 20 hours after the collision.

Nemec said he's not sure why it took authorities so long to get family members in to identify Boever's body. Victor Nemec notified authorities late Sunday morning that Boever was missing and his pickup truck was the one in the ditch, amid the ongoing crash investigation on Highway 14.

"We've got questions why it took so long to contact us," Nemec said. "Was our cousin laying dead on the highway for nearly a day while they were investigating? I don't know."

Nemec said Boever had damaged the front of his white Ford pickup when he struck a hay bale along Highway 14 earlier on Saturday. Boever was probably walking back to the pickup from his home in Highmore when he was struck by Ravnsborg on Saturday night, Nemec said.

"All I can think of, was Joe decided to walk back out to his pickup and straighten the bumper himself," he said.

[NNadir]

27. When I hit a deer, I got out of the car and looked.

You don't hit a large living object, deer or human, without looking, unless maybe you know it's a Grizzly Bear and it's not dead.

[bullwinkle428]

43. Yeah, I clipped a deer running out of a ditch in the center median with my

driver's side view mirror, and of course, he made some contact along that side of the car. This was along a 65-mph highway at night. Turned around and looked for him, to no avail, so I figured he just ran off into the woods.

[NNadir]

59. In New Jersey, the main predator for deer is the automobile.

One cannot drive very far here without encountering deer road kill somewhere.

I don't know too many people who have driven for more than 10 years without an event similar to the one you describe, and I know a lot of people who have had major damage to their cars from such an accident. (I've been there and done that.)

I've personally had more than 10 close calls, and particularly in autumn, when they are rutting, I annoyingly drive the speed limit with cruise control on and my foot hovering over the brake particularly in the evening hours.

I have never, not once, in more than 25 years in New Jersey confused a deer with a human being or vice versa, Unless one is blitzed drunk, it's rather impossible to do.

[Renew Deal]

31. He was probably drinking. That's why they drinking quote was in one of the statements.

And that's probably why he fled. Rather have an accident with a "deer" than a drunk driving murder.

[Traildogbob]

33. South Dakota leaders

Sure love killing people, there. Lawless leadership. Pro life Jesus state. A preview of MurKKKa ahead under “DickTator” rule. YeeHaw, Feedumb, MAGA, Bill Barr for Chief Justice. Pardon coming if evidence finds he was drunk.

[BlueIdaho]

35. Manslaughter. nt.

[gopiscrap]

42. typical republican they're all like that

[cwydro]

54. None of ours ever does that, right?

Come on now.

[gopiscrap]

71. nope

[Pepsidog]

49. As a criminal defense attorney whenever a client is charges with leaving the scene of an accident

and injuries are involved there is only one explanation, DUI. Recently my son's friend hit an unmarked police car and took off. The cops were able to identify the car by a piece that had broken off the car. He reported the accident to his insurance company and had the car fixed. The cops were able to use that part to trace it back to my client. Now thankfully the cop suffered only minor soft tissue injury, but they didn't everything they could to try and prove my clone had been drinking including going to Philadelphia to interview the bars my client admitted to going that night. Anyway, the cop was a good man and realized my client was you g and stupid and we worked a good deal out. Now if this AG killed someone, around my area we are talking 6-10 years minimum. The SD AG better lawyer up. I wonder if SD has a Trumpy governor who will pardon him. Why not? What do Rs care about the rule of law.

[niyad]

65. Gov is kristi noem, one of traitor.in chief's loyal ass-kissing denialists.

[Pepsidog]

67. Lordy, Lordy I really do not like her. She's part of the criminal Trump cabal.

[C Moon]

50. That was my first thought. They can still check his blood for alcohol the next day, right?

[Jersey Devil]

61. Yes, and they can extrapolate it backward

Blood alcohol reduces at the rate of about 0.015 per hour, so if they gave him a blood test 10 hours after the accident and he tested at .030 for example, 10 hours earlier he would have been about 0.18%

[C Moon]

62. Thanks. But they probably didn't bother to do this.

[Jersey Devil]

64. It wouldn't be easy to do it even if they wanted

Before taking his blood they would have to show probable cause to believe he was driving drunk and by the next day those signs might not be there - bloodshot, glassy eyes, smell of alcohol on breath, the usual stuff. Just leaving the scene of an accident alone would not do it as far as probable cause.

[niyad]

63. Has the f'n bastard resigned yet????

[malaise]

66. Do you remember ReTHUG Thomas Druce?

https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-2006-03-14-3648809-story.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_W._Druce

In July 1999 while driving, Druce struck and killed 42-year-old Harrisburg pedestrian Kenneth Cains, an African-American former US Marine.

After attempting to cover his tracks by repairing his Jeep SUV, filing a false accident claim with his insurance company and lying to police, Druce eventually pled guilty to a hit and run for leaving the scene of an accident, as well as insurance fraud and tampering with evidence.

Although he admitted to a night of drinking before the hit-and-run, he was able to avoid additional drunk driving charges because too much time had passed to test his blood-alcohol level. He was sentenced to two to four years at SCI Laurel Highlands.[4][5]

This crime was the subject of an episode of Forensic Files titled "Capitol Crimes".[6]

[Straw Man]

70. I hit a deer square-on going about 50 mph ...

... and my car was not drivable after the impact: the front-end was completely caved-in. The deer had vaulted a guardrail right in front of my car, and it was still in the air when I hit it. I saw it do a head-over-heels, and I was sure its neck was broken, but when I went back to look, it was gone. There was just a piece of antler in the roadway.

The sheriff's deputy and I spent about 15 minutes trying to follow its track through the adjacent cornfield with no luck. He would have euthanized it, and I don't like the fact that it was probably severely injured and died slowly and painfully, but there was nothing else to be done.

Yeah, the bastard was almost certainly drunk. There's no excuse for not stopping.

[ProfessorGAC]

76. Sort Of Related Story

Band played a big room up near a college town around 80 miles north. (Played there 3 or 4 times a year for a many years.). The easiest route included a couple back roads to avoid the tollway. Getting back on the tollway was a problem because there were unmanned booths, and getting the truck through the gate was an issue.
Anyway one weekend, after the Saturday gig, we loaded the truck (around 20,000 pounds loaded) and drove home.
About 2 miles from the club, state cops had a roadblock. Trooper comes to my side and asks if he can check under the truck. He asked if we drove this way last night. (Answer was no, as we left the truck and I rode home with one of the other guys.)
Cop looks under truck with big flashlight, comes back and says "Sorry for the inconvenience, we have to check everyone."
A guy get killed around that spot on the road the night before. Apparently a guy who lived down the road walked home and got killed. Hit & run.
It was a bummer ride home, and we didn't do anything wrong.
We felt awful that a guy who saw us the night before got killed on the way home.
Couple weeks later I read in the Tribune that they found the guy. He tried, after several days, to get an estimate on the front end repairs. The body shop noticed dried blood underneath and called the cops.
The blood matched the victim. I didn't follow up on the trial though.

[niyad]

83. My horror is, did Boever die on impact?