Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Traffic Fatalities, Injuries Up This Year

As the 77th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally drew to a close, the South Dakota Highway Patrol compiled some numbers on the public safety aspect of the gathering that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Black Hills.

The patrol says there were eight traffic fatalities this year compared to three last year. The latest fatalities happened Aug. 12. An 18-year-old Piedmont man lost control of his motorcycle west of Sturgis and slid into highway guardrail. A 29-year-old woman was thrown from her pickup and died after it rolled over east of Host Springs.

There were 68 injury crashes, 18 more than last year. Forty-six people were arrested on felony drug charges, down slightly from 2016; 161 people have been arrested for drunken driving, 26 fewer than last year.

The rally ended its 10-day run on Aug. 13.