PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The investigation in the Sept. 12 fatal crash involving South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg continues, said Tony Mangan of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.

Ravnsborg struck and killed Joe Boever, 55, of Highmore, at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, on U.S. Highway 14 just west of Highmore in Hyde County, state officials said. Ravnsborg has said he thought he had hit a deer until he discovered Boever’s body on Sunday morning while returning the county sheriff’s private vehicle. Ravnsborg used the sheriff’s vehicle to drive back to Pierre after the crash.

“Typically the Highway Patrol says each fatal crash takes about 30 days to complete, give or take a few days. The goal is always about doing a thorough job,” Mangan said on Oct. 8.

“I would say we are at the point of the investigation where we are looking at what we have and seeing if any holes need to be filled.  And I don’t know when that will be completed.  These cases take time, we are still less than a month since the incident.,” said Crystal Johnson, the state’s attorney in Minnehaha County, who is helping Hyde County Deputy State’s Attorney Emily Sovell with the case.

Governor Kristi Noem assigned the South Dakota Highway Patrol to lead the investigation.

Mangan said while the highway patrol leads the investigation, the investigation is a collaborative effort on the part of all agencies involved.

 North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation is also participating in the investigation as well as a crash expert from Wyoming.

“Hundreds of hours have been invested.  Between N.D. BCI and the S.D. HP, it’s been hundreds of hours,” Johnson said of the time already invested in the crash investigation.

Mangan said each fatal crash investigation is different. “There are many elements that may or may not need to be part of that particular investigation,” Mangan said. “Those might include interviews to be done with possible witnesses, crash scene reconstruction, toxicology reports or other such reports. It takes time to get all of that information compiled.”

He said that he couldn’t comment on whether or not any specific piece of the Ravnsborg crash investigation has been completed or is still in process.

Mangan also said he couldn’t comment on the specific number of law officers assigned to the investigation.

“(For) all fatal crashes, the number of people needed to do the job thoroughly is assigned,” Mangan said.

The investigation into Ravnsborg’s fatal crash is also happening while the highway patrol is investigating other fatal crashes in the state, Mangan said.