Victor Nemec knew something was wrong when he went to pick up his cousin Joe Boever Sunday morning at his home in Highmore.
The two had planned to go fix Boever's truck, which had been damaged when Boever hit a hay bale in the ditch the night prior. Victor said his cousin had told him he went off the road while reaching for his tobacco. But when Nemec arrived, Boever's house was unlocked with all the lights on.
His cousin was nowhere to be found. Concerned, Nemec called the Hyde County Sheriff.
Twelve hours later, he and his brother Nick Nemec were in a Highmore funeral home identifying Boever's body.
Boever, 55, was killed in an accident late Saturday involving South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg.
It was announced in a Sunday evening press release from Gov. Kristi Noem that Ravnsborg had been involved in a fatal wreck, though few details were released.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol confirmed that Ravnsborg was involved in the crash that killed Boever Saturday night, according to a news release Monday. Ravnsborg initially reported the crash to the Hyde County Sheriff's Office that he thought he had hit a deer.
Boever's body was not discovered until Sunday morning, the release states.
The investigation is ongoing and being led by the Highway Patrol.
But in Victor Nemec's eyes, it's a simpler story.
"The attorney general hit my cousin as he was walking down the side of the road and killed him," he said.
Victor said he and his cousin planned to fix Boever's white Ford pickup Sunday morning, but at some point in the evening, Boever decided not to wait and began walking to his truck.
That's when he was killed while walking along Highway 14 west of Highmore. Nick Nemec, Victor's brother, is a former Democratic state legislator and party delegate who ran unsuccessfully for the Public Utilities Commission in 2012.
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.
Tim Bormann, chief of staff in the attorney general's office, told the Argus Leader via email Monday that Ravnsborg was traveling alone at the time of the crash. He was uninjured.
Ravnsborg "placed the call to 911 right after the accident, my understanding is that he called from the location of his vehicle," Bormann wrote.
Ravnsborg was not in the office Monday, but "is performing his duties as attorney general and is available for such."
Ravnsborg was elected to his post in 2018 with 55 percent of the vote, defeating Democratic opponent Randy Seiler. He succeeded Marty Jackley as attorney general.
https://www.argusleader.com/story/ne...rg/5791660002/
South Dakota's attorney general reported hitting a deer Saturday night but actually hit and killed a man whose body wasn't discovered until the next morning, the Department of Public Safety said Monday morning.
Gov. Kristi Noem said at a Sunday afternoon press conference in Sioux Falls that Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg had been involved in a fatal crash around 10:30 p.m. Saturday near the East River town of Highmore. No other details were released.
What follows is from the DPS news release:
Ravnsborg, a 44-year-old from Pierre, was driving a sedan westbound on U.S. Highway 14 on Saturday night. He told the Hyde County Sheriff;s Office that around 10:30 p.m. he hit a deer a mile west of Highmore.
The release does not say if Ravnsborg stopped to confirm that he hit a deer or inspect his vehicle for damage. It also doesn't say if Ravnsborg called 911, the non-emergency line or someone from the office. The Journal has requested audio recordings of this call and all other calls related to the crash.
The body Joe Boever, a 55-year-old from Highmore, was discovered the next morning. The release does not say where Boever was found and who found him.
All information is preliminary at this point and the Highway Patrol continues to investigate the crash.
South Dakota's Division of Criminal Investigation, which is part of the Attorney General's Office, will not be investigating the crash in order to avoid the appearance or actual conflict of interest, spokesman Tim Bormann told the Journal.
Inspectors from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation " the equivalent of DCI " will be helping instead.
The attorney general had been driving home to Pierre after attending the Spink County Lincoln Day Dinner in Redfield, Bormann said. The event was hosted at Rooster's Bar and Grill from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., according to the website of the South Dakota GOP.
Ravnsborg was not hurt in the crash, Bormann said.
https://rapidcityjournal.com/news/lo...7ad5ce995f97b8
Originally Posted by bowieluva
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