Documents: South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg has history of speeding

South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, who was involved in a fatal crash this weekend, has a history of speeding and other traffic violations, according to a background check. 

Ravnsborg, 44, was involved in a fatal crash in Hyde County on Saturday, Gov. Kristi Noem announced Sunday evening. 

The South Dakota Highway Patrol announced Monday morning that Ravnsborg told the Hyde County Sheriff’s Office that he had been involved in a car-deer crash.

The crash occurred around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, according to the highway patrol's news release. The victim, Joe Boever, was found Sunday morning. South Dakota Highway Patrol was notified about the fatality after the body

More:Highway Patrol: Ravnsborg told authorities he thought he hit a deer

The release did not say whether speed was a factor or if charges are pending.

Ravnsborg, who was elected as the state's Attorney General in 2018, has six speeding infractions between 2014 and 2018 in South Dakota, according to a background check. He pleaded guilty to all of them and paid fines ranging from $19 to $79. He also has received two speeding tickets in Iowa.

Ravnsborwas also cited on a seat belt violation out of Brown County in March 2017 and driving without a proper exhaust and muffler system out of Yankton County in August 2015. He paid a $25 fine and a $54 fine in those cases, respectively.  

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The speeding tickets range from January 2014 to September 2018, just before he was elected to office.

Among the infractions:

• Ravnsborg pleaded guilty and paid a $19 fine and $68 in court costs for speeding in Beadle County in September 2018. 
• He pleaded guilty to and paid a $59 fine and a $66 court fee for speeding in Pennington County in April 2018. 
• Ravnsborg was cited for speeding on a four-lane road in a rural area in Clay County in 2017. He pleaded guilty and paid a $19 fine and $66 in court costs in June 2017. 
• He paid a $79 fine and $66 in court costs for speeding in May 2015 in Faulk County. 
• Speeding in Douglas County in April 2015 resulted in a $39 fine and $66 in court costs.
• The first infraction on record was in January 2014, speeding in Yankton County. Ravnsborg paid a $19 fine and $66 in court costs.

Ravnsborg also received two speeding tickets in Iowa for speeding 6-10 mph over the limit in a 55-or-under zone in 1996 and going 11-15 mph over the limit in a 55 or under zone in 2003. 

Tony Mangan, spokesperson for the Highway Patrol, said at the direction of the governor, the Highway Patrol is leading the investigation. The attorney general’s office said investigators from North Dakota are also in South Dakota and assisting in the crash investigation due to the conflict created by Ravnsborg’s role overseeing the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.

Email reporter Danielle Ferguson at dbferguson@argusleader.com, or follow on Twitter at @DaniFergs.