Ravnsborg Says Fatal Accident May Have Been A Suicide

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota’s attorney general is attempting to access any psychiatric or psychological records of the man he struck and killed along a highway, alleging in court documents that the death may have been a suicide.

Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg faces three misdemeanor charges related to his driving when he struck and killed Joe Boever the night of Sept. 12.

Investigators say Ravnsborg was distracted and swerved out of his lane on Highway 14 near Highmore as Boever, 55, walked on the shoulder with a flashlight.

A motion filed Friday alleges a pattern of alcoholism and prescription drug abuse by Boever that caused at least one family member, a cousin, to believe that a depressed Boever killed himself by jumping in front of Ravnsborg’s car.