STURGIS, S.D. – One person died and another was seriously injured Friday afternoon in a crash south of Sturgis, south where the Sturgis Motorcycle rally is underway
The Highway Patrol reports a southbound Dodge Ram pickup moved to pass a group of motorcycles when it collided with a northbound Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Both occupants of the motorcycle were thrown. The 60-year-old male driver was dead at the scene. The 61-year-old female passenger was airlifted to a local hospital with serious non-life-threatening injuries. The passenger was wearing a helmet; the driver was not.
The driver of the Dodge Ram was not injured.
The annual rally returns just as coronavirus cases in the state are rising with the more contagious delta variant. Organizers say they expected at least 700,000 people to show up during the 10-day event.
Even on Thursday, downtown Sturgis was clogged with Harleys, rallygoers crowded shoulder-to-shoulder at bars and rock shows, and masks were nowhere in sight.
Public health experts worry the rally will again be a vehicle to spread coronavirus infections. Hundreds of rallygoers were infected last year, spreading the virus to other communities.
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