Sheriff who investigated fatal attorney general crash dies week ahead of impeachment probe

A rural lawman thrust into the spotlight in the aftermath of Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg's fatal crash in September 2020 has died.

Mike Volek, 69, had been the Hyde County Sheriff since first being elected to the post in 1998. He was in the middle of his sixth term as the county's top law enforcement officer at the time of his death.

The Hyde County Sheriff's Office and the South Dakota Sheriffs Association confirmed the death but were unable to provide more details.

Volek's death comes one week before the Legislature convenes a special session to determine whether Ravnsborg should be impeached for the fatal accident.

House Speaker Spencer Gosch, R-Glenham, had not heard of Volek's death and did not know if it would play a role in a potential impeachment hearing.

Volek's tenure as sheriff was mostly quiet and with few high-profile criminal cases. But that changed on Sept. 12, 2020, when he responded to a 911 call made by the attorney general, who'd told an emergency dispatcher he'd struck "something" in the roadway while traveling through Highmore in the nighttime hours.

While on scene, Volek and Ravnsborg walked the ditch in the vicinity of the crash scene but did not discover what Ravnsborg had struck with the Ford Taurus he was driving. Ravnsborg later said he believed he'd struck a deer.

With the Taurus undrivable, Volek loaned Ravnsborg his personal vehicle so he could finish driving to his Pierre home. Not until the next morning when Ravnsborg returned to Highmore to drop off Volek's vehicle did he realize he'd killed 55-year-old Joe Boever, who's body was lying in the ditch near the crash site.

After discovering Boever's remains, Ravnsborg returned to Volek's home, which was near the crash scene.

In the days following, Volek declined to speak publicly about the incident, but he was interviewed by North Dakota detectives brought into the investigation to assist the South Dakota Highway Patrol's investigation.

Volek's interview has not been released to the public.

Ravnsborg was convicted in August of two misdemeanor traffic charges stemming from the crash, though neither amounted to criminal culpability for Boever's death.

The Legislature is scheduled to gather for a special session Nov. 9 to consider whether Ravnsborg should be impeached.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Hyde County Sheriff Mike Volek dies week before South Dakota AG probe