South Dakota Attorney General Impeached Over Deadly Crash

PIERRE, SD — South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg has been impeached by the South Dakota House of Representatives for his conduct regarding a 2020 crash in which he struck and killed a pedestrian.

The South Dakota House voted to impeach Ravnsborg on Tuesday, the first official to be impeached in the state's history. Ravsnborg's trial will be heard by the South Dakota Senate at least 20 days after the impeachment, though a date has not yet been set. Senators will need a two-thirds vote to remove him from office.

The two articles of impeachment received approval from 36 members of the Republican-led House, passing by one vote.

Ravnsborg was returning home from a Republican dinner in September 2020 when he struck and killed Joseph Boever. He initially told law enforcement in a 911 call that he had hit an animal and later said he didn't know he had hit someone until the next day when he found the body.

"When we’re dealing with the life of one of your citizens, I think that weighed heavily on everyone," State Rep. Will Mortenson said.

Ravnsborg pleaded no contest last year to a pair of traffic misdemeanors in the crash, including an illegal lane change.

The articles of impeachment accused Ravnsborg of committing crimes that caused someone’s death, making "numerous misrepresentations" to law enforcement officers after the crash and using his office to navigate the criminal investigation. Ravnsborg will be forced to take a leave of absence pending a trial and would be banned from ever holding a state office with a conviction.

"Why would someone dial 9-1-1 if they hit a deer?" State Rep. Tim Goodwin said during the proceedings. "You dial 9-1-1 when you hit a body."

An amendment to remove one of the articles of impeachment on malfeasance failed.

Ravnsborg declined comment after the House voted to impeach him, but he sent a pair of letters to members of the House on Monday evening.

In one of the letters, he blasted South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, saying she "politically weaponized" the crash. He argued that the matter should be put to rest because he already paid the price for the crash. He also expressed incredulity at the idea that he was being impeached over a traffic accident. He also refused to resign because he said the crash was not involved with and did not impact his duties as attorney general.

In the second letter, he listed several misconceptions he identified about the case and refuted them in a list. Some of the accusations he disputed included receiving or asking for preferential treatment because of his position, a lack of need to report the accident if he thought it was a deer he hit, involvement of alcohol or driving distracted, and being off road when the crash occurred.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.