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Obviously there are other things to be focused on in the coming days but please don't let the fact that South Dakota's Attorney General, Jason Ravnsborg, struck and killed a man with his vehicle 50 days ago and has yet to face any repercussions. (1/9) https://twitter.com/Argus911/status/1323321108834209796
Please note that the figure in my previous tweet shows that the victim, Joseph Boever, was walking on the highway's shoulder, as far away from the road as possible without being in the ditch. (2/9)
This is a direct contradiction of what Ravnsborg told the 911 operator that he called: "I hit something... And it was in the middle of the road." (see https://www.kotatv.com/2020/10/13/read-full-911-call-transcript-from-night-of-ravnsborg-fatal-crash/for transcript) (3/9)
The local sheriff responded to the 911 call at ~10:30PM, was unable to find a body, and let Ravnsborg leave the scene with no sort of toxicology work done. Boever's body was found the next morning and Ravnsborg was finally given a toxicology screening (1:30PM the next day). (4/9)
Unsurprisingly, given the accident had happened nearly 15 hours previously, Ravnsborg's blood alcohol content was clean. However, SD's public safety secretary told reporters today that the investigation revealed Ravnsborg was "distracted" at the time of killing Boever. (5/9)
Again, there has been no legitimate repercussions for Ravnsborg since taking the life of a human being 50 days ago. Governor @KristiNoem has refused to take action thus far and is more focused on travelling around the country (in the middle of a pandemic) to campaign for DJT. 6/9
This whole situation is horrifying and, unfortunately, incredibly common. Drivers who strike and kill pedestrians are given shocking amounts of leniency because it was "an accident". However, this disregards the fact that automobiles are deadly. (7/9)
We should not be satisfied with writing this case (or any other killing of pedestrians/cyclists/etc by drivers, for that matter) off as an "accident". Being distracted at the wheel is grossly negligent at best, and homicidal at worst - it's time we treat it as such. (8/9)
For more reading about Ravnsborg's case, see: https://argusleader.com/story/news/crime/2020/11/02/south-dakota-jason-ravnsborg-noem-fatal-crash-investigation/6121166002. In the meantime, please don't kill people with your vehicle. (9/9)
