STURGIS, S.D. – The South Dakota Highway Patrol says they continue to see a sharp increase in felony drug arrests as the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally settles in.
According to the latest report issued today, there have been 45 felony drug arrests since Sunday — an increase from 21 on the same day last year. The patrol says this trend mirrors what is being seen across the nation and usually involves methamphetamine.
The patrol says D.U.I. arrests are also up over last year. As of Sunday, the patrol reported 51 compared to 36 on the same day last year.
The increased numbers point to a bigger rally this year over the past three years. Total number of citations are way up — 400 compared to last year’s 284.
Accidents, however, are right in line with last year. The latest report indicates 13 non-injury crashes and 12 injury accidents. Those compare with 14 and 12 last year respectively.
There have been no fatal crashes as of yet.
There were three injury crashes on Sunday. One involved two motorcycles striking each other on U.S. Highway 16A. That accident seriously injured three people.
Another accident involved a biker failing to negotiate a curve on Highway 87 and crashed near Custer. The biker was seriously hurt.
The third crash happened southwest of Hermosa when a motorcyclist lost control trying to avoid a hole in the road. The motorcycle rider and his passenger received minor injuries.
The patrol is also advising motorcyclists to watch for South Dakota’s wildlife. A biker and his passenger were hurt Saturday after striking a deer.
(Gary Matthews, KBHB, contributed this report.)
