Rally Week surprisingly ordinary

There was plenty of speculation leading up to the 80th Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. In the middle of a pandemic, would there be more visitors to town to take advantage of one of the few big events still on track this year, or would the bikers play it safe and stay away?

The answer appears to be that, while there was little change in numbers for Wyoming Wednesday itself, Crook County was a popular destination for bikers throughout the week.

“I think the crowd downtown was about the same as last year,” says Police Chief Marty Noonan, of Burnout Wednesday in Sundance. “With that said, I also think last year was the smallest crowd I have seen in the 27 or 28 rallies I’ve worked. The Harley shop moving may have taken away from the downtown crowd a little.”

Sundance Police Department made no arrests over Rally Week, he says, and the visitors this year were well-behaved. The stand-out memory Noonan will take away from the 2020 event is a positive one.

“I was personally thanked for my service at least 50 times,” he says, describing this as a very humbling experience.

Shortly before the event, Mayor Paul Brooks suggested that patrolling the crowds this year might not be the best plan and stated that he’d prefer Sundance’s officers stay safe. Noonan says he bore this in mind as the engines began their roar into town.

“We did do foot patrol but tried not to mingle with the crowd as we have in the past,” he says.

Crook County Sheriff’s Office reports 20 calls to EMS related to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally and 10 Rally-related arrests. Charges levied in the two weeks surrounding the event (August 1-16) include five for driving while under the influence of alcohol, one for speeding, three for failure to maintain lane, four for interference with a police officer, two out-of-state warrants, one breach of peace, one aggravated assault, one for lack of vehicle insurance, three for possession of a controlled substance and two for driving while under the influence of a controlled substance.

Ten traffic violation warnings were given and 17 citations, including 12 for traffic violations, one for driving under the influence of alcohol, one domestic, one for destruction of property, one for possession of marijuana and one for littering.

Calls for service included 18 motorists assists, 63 traffic stops, three motorcycle crashes, one search for a missing biker and one truck crash.

“All in all, a pretty normal, uneventful Rally,” says Sheriff Jeff Hodge.

Rally Week saw few surprises for Wyoming Highway Patrol either, according to Lt. Tim Boumeester, who feels there was little out of the ordinary going on out on the roads.

“WYDOT didn’t put out any traffic counters, so we don’t have an official count, but just going off talking to some of the guys and my own personal observations out there, I would say it was pretty comparable to years past for traffic flow,” he says.

Between August 7 and 16, Wyoming Highway Patrol saw a total of 25 crashes between Crook and Weston Counties, reports Boumeester.

“Crook County had nine property damage only crashes, seven personal injury crashes and then we had one fatality crash, which resulted in two dead,” he says.

The fatal crash was reported on August 11 east of Hulett on Wyoming 24 at around 5 p.m. According to Wyoming Highway Patrol, a Harley Davidson Road King was headed southbound when the driver failed to negotiate a curve to the left, exited the roadway and collided with a post before overturning.

The driver was identified as 56-year-old James Neyens of Minnesota. He was not wearing a helmet and succumbed to his injuries at the scene.

The passenger was 56-year-old Mary F. Aitken of Minnesota, who also was not wearing a helmet and succumbed to her injuries at the scene. Alcohol use is being investigated as a contributing factor, according to Highway Patrol.

In terms of arrests, Boumeester reports three in total for Highway Patrol. One was on a warrant out for the person’s arrest, the second was for driving under the influence and the third was drug-related, he says.