Deaths in Vehicle Crashes Up 38% in South Dakota in 2020
April 16, 2021
The number of traffic crash fatalities in South Dakota rose to 141 last year — an increase of 38% over the previous year.
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety said in 2020, there were 132 crashes in which the fatalities occurred.
In 2019, 102 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes, the lowest in state history since records have been kept beginning in 1947. The number of fatal crashes in 2019 was 88, also a record low.
DPS Secretary Craig Price said the 2020 total is the state’s highest since 2007. He said the department plans to increase its safety and enforcement efforts.