Sturgis sees largest crowd in 38 years, police chief says - Grand Forks Herald
And the rally was just getting started, with more visitors expected to roll into the “Motorcycle Capital of the World” as the 75th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in the Black Hills of South Dakota continues through next Monday. With pre-rally estimates of 1 million, Bush and other officials believe it likely will hit that mark. The previous record crowds were in 2000 for the 60th anniversary when an estimated 700,000 people attended. As of Monday morning at 6 a. m. , there were six fatalities related to the rally already in western South Dakota. That was more than during the rally all of last year when four people died, and on track to be one of the most deadly rallies. There were four in a 24-hour period from early Sunday morning to early Monday morning. The crashes were the result of a variety of circumstances, although Tony Mangan of the South Dakota Department of Transportation said people should be aware of the heavy traffic, slow down, and watch for vehicles around them. One of the fatal crashes was in the city of Sturgis itself where at 1:46 a. m. Monday, a motorcycle driven by Todd Hay, 47, of Deland, Fla. There were several people sleeping in tents in the yard, but no one in the tents was injured. Source: www.grandforksherald.com
