South Dakota's attorney-general, Jason Ravnsborg, reported hitting a deer with his car but actually killed a pedestrian whose body was not found until the next day, US police say.
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Ravnsborg's office says he immediately called 911 after the crash on a rural stretch of US Highway 14 and did not realise he had hit a man until his body was found.
The Department of Public Safety issued a statement on Monday saying only that Ravnsborg told the Hyde County Sheriff's Office he had hit a deer.
Spokesman Tony Mangan would not confirm whether Ravnsborg called 911, saying it was part of the ongoing investigation.
The pedestrian, who was identified as 55-year-old Joseph Boever, was not found until Sunday morning.
He had crashed his truck in the area earlier, according to relatives, and was apparently walking near the road toward it.
Governor Kristi Noem revealed on Sunday Ravnsborg was involved in a fatal crash and tasked the Department of Public Safety with investigating but neither she nor the agency provided details.
The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation is also participating in the investigation.
The South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, which would normally be involved, is part of the attorney general's office.
Ravnsborg issued a statement on Sunday saying he was "shocked and filled with sorrow". His office said on Monday he had not been drinking before the crash.
Ravnsborg was driving from a Republican fundraiser in Redfield to his home about 180 km away in Pierre, spokesman Tim Bormann said. He was uninjured.
It took investigators nearly 22 hours to identify Boever's body with a family member, leaving relatives frustrated and suspicious, cousin Victor Nemec said.
Boever had crashed his truck into a hay bale earlier on Saturday evening, according to Nemec.
Boever told his cousin he had been reaching for some tobacco.
Nemec had given Boever a ride home, which was about 2.4 km away and made plans to make repairs on Sunday.
He left Boever after 9 pm. The crash that killed him happened around 10.30 pm. Nemec said "there was no indication whatsoever" that his cousin had been drinking.
"A human doesn't look like a deer," Nemec said. "The whole thing stinks to me."
Australian Associated Press
