STURGIS, S.D. – With today (Friday) being the official start of the Rally, the South Dakota Highway Patrol and local law enforcement will begin their annual Rally Accident reporting.
It has already been a busy week, with several motorcycle-related accidents around the Black Hills that won’t count on the official rally report.
For example, the Custer County Sheriff’s Office reported 5 separate motorcycle accidents Thursday with four injuries.
In Sturgis, accidents keep the Sturgis Ambulance crew hopping.
Shawn Fischer, the Sturgis Ambulance Director and a Critical Care Paramedic says that things began to get busy starting last Monday, when the team ran 19 calls instead of the usual six or seven.
She says during the 2 weeks of the Rally, they tend to respond to twice as many calls as they would over the span of a normal month. She says drugs play a big role in what they’re responding to.
Fischer says that the training the team goes through on a yearly basis is extraordinary, preparing them for when the time comes for the Rally.
