South Dakota Attorney General says he found body the morning after crash

South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg says he realized he struck and killed a man on a rural stretch of highway only after returning to the scene the next day and discovering the body.

The state’s top law enforcement officer says he thought he had hit a deer while driving home from a Republican fundraiser in Redfield on Saturday night. Ravnsborg says he called 911 immediately after the crash on U.S. Highway 14. Ravnsborg says the Hyde County Sheriff was at the scene and neither of them suspected the accident involved a person.  He says “Sheriff Volek filled out the necessary paperwork to properly report the accident.”

Ravsnsborg says he searched the area of the accident that night using the light from his phone but did not spot any body.

Authorities have identified the victim as 55-year-old Joseph Boever.

Ravnsborg also says he did not consume any alcoholic beverages “before, during or after” the event in Redfield. He says he is cooperating fully with the investigation.

The South Dakota State Patrol and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation are investigating. The South Dakota DCI is part of the attorney general’s office.