Revealed: Smashed windscreen of South Dakota AG's car after he hit and killed a man he said was a deer - as cousin of the dead man says cops stopped him taking pictures of the damaged car and crash scene

The cousin of a man who was hit and killed by South Dakota AG Jason Ravnsborg has said police would not let him take pictures when he showed up to the scene two days after the Saturday night accident.

Former Democratic State Lawmaker, Nick Nemec, 'had to see it for myself' when he learned Joe Boever had been fatally injured, and on Wednesday revealed details of what he saw a little over 1/4 mile west of the junction of US14 and SD47 on Tuesday.

Nemec said tire skid marks stretched for over 200 feet before there were two parallel blood skid marks still on the paved shoulder.

'This first blood marks were about 6″ wide and 6′-8′ long,' he told the Dakota Free Press. 'There was then a skip for about 20 feet before a wider blood skid mark closer to the edge of the shoulder that was about 1′ wide and 20′ long.

Former Democratic State Lawmaker, Nick Nemec, saw the vehicle involved in his cousin's death being taken to the SD DOT on Tuesday, days after the fatal collision

He said the red Ford Taurus had a 'huge hole' in the passenger side of the windshield

South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg mowed down 55-year-old Jason Boever with his car near Highmore on Saturday night and called 911 to report that he'd hit a deer

'There was then another skip of about 20′ until a dried pool of blood in the grass on the edge of the road. The pool of blood was 2′ from the edge of the … 

'This was the very edge of the grass and the ground was nearly level with the shoulder of the road at this point, the ditch slope had not really begun yet. Black flies were buzzing in the air just above the blood pool.'

He also saw a flatbed truck carrying a red Ford Taurus with a 'huge hole' in the passenger side of the windshield. That vehicle belonged to Ravnsborg and images of it in the area where a 45mph zone had just turned into a 65mph zone were later released by Keloland TV.

'The truck turned into the SD DOT yard near the speed limit sign and drove into the shop and the overhead door quickly closed,' Nemec continued.

'Highway patrolmen and other authority figures immediately surrounded my vehicle as I drove up to the building and parked. I requested permission to photograph the windshield of the vehicle and was denied.'

Nemec said investigators later re-investigated the crash scene after it had already been cleared from the initial search for evidence.

The HP told me they were doing another accident investigation and needed the red Ford back in Highmore,' Nemec continued. 

'I eventually asked permission to leave the DOT yard and permission was granted. I ran some errands in Highmore and left town less than an hour later, by that time US14 was reduced to one lane with a pilot car leading traffic through the accident area, the scene was being investigated for the second time in three days.

'I saw traffic cones marking stuff and new paint marks of a different color on the road. I don't know how long the road was reduced to one lane but a friend told my brother Victor that FBI agents were seen on the scene later that afternoon.' 

Nemec said tire skid marks stretched for over 200 feet before there were two parallel blood skid marks still on the paved shoulder on Tuesday 

Boever's damaged pickup truck is seen in the middle of a field after he had crashed into a hay bale hours before he was struck and killed by Ravnsborg

Traffic is seen on US Highway 14 as authorities launched an investigation into the fatal crash. Nemec said they conducted a second investigation three days after the crash

Ravnsborg attended a GOP dinner at a bar before he reported hitting a deer on his 110-mile drive home when he actually struck and killed a man.

Photos posted on the Spink County Republicans' Facebook page show Ravnsborg sitting near the stage at the small Republican fundraiser at Rooster's Bar and Grill in Redfield Saturday night, hours before he hit 55-year-old Jason Boever with his vehicle.

Witnesses at the fundraiser have vouched for the attorney general that they didn't see him drinking alcohol and that he did not seem 'impaired in any way shape or form'. 

Ravnsborg told authorities he hit 'something I believed to be a large animal (likely a deer)' soon after he passed Boever's hometown of Highmore.  

'I didn't see what I hit and stopped my vehicle immediately to investigate,' he wrote, adding that he pulled out the flashlight on his cell phone and all he could see were pieces of his car strewn across the roadway. 

The DPS said the crash occurred at 10:30 p.m. on U.S. Highway 14, one mile west of Highmore and along a stretch of road lit up with street lamps. 

It takes one hour and seven minutes to drive from the restaurant to the crash site, reported Rapid City Journal.  

The GOP dinner at a bar that South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg attended before he reported hitting a deer on his 110-mile drive home when he actually struck and killed a man

Photos posted on the Spink County Republicans Facebook page show Ravnsborg sitting near the stage at the small Republican fundraiser at Rooster's Bar and Grill in Redfield Saturday night

Photos show the group listening to speakers at the podium and tucking in to some food. Witnesses at the fundraiser have vouched for the attorney general that they didn't see him drinking alcohol and that he did not seem 'impaired in any way shape or form'

After Ravnsborg called 911, Sheriff Volek arrived at the scene to assess the damage to his car and search for what he had hit. 

He said they searched the area around the vehicle with flashlights but neither of them spotted Boever lying in a ditch. 

'At no time did either of us suspect that I had been involved in an accident with a person,' Ravnsborg wrote.

Because Ravnsborg's car was too damaged to drive and a tow truck would take over an hour to arrive, Volek offered to let the attorney general take his personal car back to Pierre.  

The following morning Ravnsborg and his chief of staff made the trip back to Highmore to return Volek's vehicle. 

The pair stopped at the crash site on their way and discovered a man's body in the grass near the roadway.  

'My chief of staff and I checked and it was apparent that Mr. Boever was deceased,' Ravnsborg wrote. 

'I immediately drove to Sheriff Volek's home to report the discovery and he accompanied me back to the scene. 

'Once there, the sheriff instructed me that he would handle the investigation, and asked me to return to Pierre.'  

Ravnsborg, who has eight traffic tickets since 2014, including six for speeding, has said he didn't drink any alcohol on the fateful night. 

Ravnsborg drove his car to the local sheriff and returned to the scene of the accident. However Hyde County Sheriff Mike Volek let the attorney general take his personal car back to Pierre because Ravnsborg's car was too damaged to drive and a tow truck would take over an hour to arrive. The car is pictured in 2017

Ravnsborg said at 'no time' did he or Hyde County Sheriff Mike Volek 'suspect that I had been in an accident with a person' in a statement he released Monday night

Ravnsborg has said he didn't drink any alcohol at Roosters on the fateful night

Ravnsborg, who was alone in his 2011 Ford Taurus, insisted that he had not been drinking before he got behind the wheel and said he is 'cooperating fully with the investigation' by the South Dakota Highway Patrol and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation. 

However, questions are being asked around how the AG could have mistaken a deer for a person, particularly given the prevalence of animal collisions in the area and Ravnsborg's tendency to make frequent, long trips along the state's highways for small political events. 

This defense of the AG comes as Boever's devastated relatives called the fatal crash 'fishy' and expressed concern that authorities could bungle the investigation to protect Ravnsborg - the top law enforcement official in the state. 

Boever's cousins, Nick and Victor Nemec, have now said they are worried that investigators might not make a complete effort to find out the truth about what happened to him. 

The Nemecs criticized authorities for being tight-lipped about their progress and for taking so long to identify Boever, even though he had been reported missing by Victor 10 hours before his body was found.  

'It just seems fishy,' Nick told South Dakota News Watch. 'It just seems like they're looking for an excuse to make it less than it was.'  

Boever's family have expressed suspicion that authorities could be working to cover up details of the incident to protect Ravnsborg. Boever is pictured second from right with relatives

Victor had contacted the Hyde County Sheriff's Office on Sunday morning and said that Boever was missing and may have been involved in the Highmore collision. 

He notified officers that Boever's truck was in a ditch near the accident scene after he crashed it into a hay bale on Saturday morning.  

Despite his report, Victor said authorities still haven't approached him for an interview. 

'I believe they're more interested in getting their story straight before they actually ask me questions,' Victor told SDNW. 

'I told them that I was probably one of the last people to see my cousin alive. I could make any kind of statement that they needed. And they really didn't acknowledge that.'

'It took them 10 hours from the time my brother essentially solved the unidentified body for them at 10 o'clock in the morning saying: 'We're missing our cousin, Joe, and we can't find him. And that's his pickup in the ditch,'' Nick, a former Democratic state legislator, told the outlet.   

Michael Card, a political science professor at the University of South Dakota, told the Associated Press many were also asking questions over how Ravnsborg could have mistaken the victim for an animal.   

South Dakota is ranked as one of the most dangerous states for animal-vehicular collisions, according to State Farm Insurance, with crashes involving deer on the state's highways common.

Card said the familiarity with deer collisions means many have cast doubt on how a human and deer could be mistaken by a driver.  

'If this is people's lived experience, then he may be convicted in the court of public opinion,' Card said. 

'If they form a negative opinion collectively, he may not be able to get past this.'

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem vowed Tuesday to add 'an extra level of transparency and accountability' to the case by having state investigators release their probe into the fatal crash

Gov. Noem promised 'transparency' over the investigation in a press conference Tuesday and announced outside investigators were taking over the case. 

'We are adding an extra level of transparency and accountability that I think is necessary in this case,' Noem said. 

'We want to have a completed investigation that has integrity, that has been fair.' 

She has not addressed whether Ravnsborg should be asked to take a leave of absence during the investigation.   

Highway Patrol, part of the Department of Public Safety , is leading the investigation and will release its findings once complete, including all relevant 911 calls. 

No timescale has been provided over when the investigation will be completed.  

DPS Secretary Craig Price said the probe was taking 'very seriously' the need to avoid any conflict of interest and said it was 'all hands on deck'. 

A crash reconstruction expert from Wyoming will also be assisting with the case. 

The South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, which would normally be involved, is part of the attorney general's office. 

It is standard practice to request an outside agency to conduct an investigation when there may be a conflict of interest.  

Price said the Hyde County State's Attorney Office will decide whether criminal charges should be filed and that State's Attorney Merlin Voorhees will recuse himself from the case if he has any conflict of interest.  

Boever's autopsy was conducted Monday in Ramsey County, Minnesota, but the findings are yet to be released.   

Ravnsborg has had eight traffic tickets since 2014, including six for speeding

The Highway Patrol has remained tight-lipped - refusing to say if speed or alcohol were a factor in the crash, when Ravnsborg reported the crash or if charges are pending against him. 

Ravnsborg has agreed to a search of both of his cell phones, provided a blood draw and provided witnesses to law enforcement who can confirm he was not drinking at the event before the crash.

His Chief of Staff Tim Bormann said the attorney general is known to have an occasional drink, but has made it a practice not to drink at the Lincoln Day events like the one on Saturday night.

State Sen Brock Greenfield, who also attended the dinner, said of Ravnsborg: 'I didn't see him with anything but a Coke.' 

Ravnsborg, who was elected to the post of attorney general in 2018, has received six traffic tickets for speeding in South Dakota over the last six years. 

He also received tickets for a seat belt violation and for driving a vehicle without a proper exhaust and muffler system. 

Read Jason Ravnsborg's full statement below: