Investigators believe ‘very realistic possibility’ South Dakota attorney general knew he hit and killed a man with his car. He’s still running for reelection.

• South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg was found guilty of two misdemeanors in connection with a fatal 2020 car crash.
• He received no jail time, but South Dakota lawmakers are now considering his impeachment.
• Investigators say there’s a “very realistic possibility” that he knew he killed the man, despite claiming that he was unaware.

South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg — who was found guilty of two misdemeanors in connection with a fatal car crash — will continue running for a second term despite an ongoing impeachment probe and calls to resign.

On the night of September 12, 2020, Ravnsborg called the police saying he hit “something” that was “in the middle of the road,” adding that it may have been a deer, according to his 911 call. 

The following day he had returned to the site of the crash finding the body of 55-year-old Joe Boever, according to his video interview with police.

Ravnsborg insists that he didn’t see anything the night of the accident, but investigators say they found Boever’s DNA on the car’s windshield and his glasses inside of Ravnsborg’s car.

Ravnsborg pleaded “no contest” in 2021 — receiving no jail time for the fatal crash, and instead faced misdemeanor charges, according to the Associated Press. 

Investigators — from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation — concluded that there was a “very realistic possibility” Ravnsborg was aware that he killed the man, announcing it Wednesday to a committee of South Dakota lawmakers considering his impeachment, Stephen Groves of the Associated Press reported Thursday.

North Dakota Special Agent Arnie Rummel told South Dakota lawmakers Wednesday that Ravnsborg “walked by a flashlight that’s on.”

“There’s a body that’s laying within two feet of the roadway and obviously deceased and he’s all white, there isn’t any blood being pumped in him, and the fact white is reflective, I believe that he’d have to see him,” he added.

Investigators also cited interviews with police following the accident, which can be viewed online. 

Despite his ongoing impeachment probe and calls to resign — including by Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota — Ravnsborg continues to seek re-election as attorney general.

The South Dakota and North Dakota attorney general offices did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.