SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) - A bill classifying vehicular homicide as a crime of violence was sent to the South Dakota Senate.
Attorney General Marty Jackley referred to the case of Meagan Spindler, one of two U-S Wildlife officials killed in Lake Andes by a drunk driver in 2013.
Jackley says having that discussion with the victim, such as Greg Spindler, he didn't know how to go about explaining that what happened to his daughter is not a violent crime in South Dakota.
Lobbyist Lindsey Riter-Rapp says if the measure passed, every vehicular homicide could fall under the statute. She says it would be one of the only laws on South Dakota's books in which negligent conduct could constitute a crime of violence.
Jackley was unhappy with the thirty year sentence given to 30-year old Ronald Fischer in the deaths of Spindler and Robert Klumb.