At least five people were killed in motorcycle accidents in the region during the annual Sturgis motorcycle rally, which ended Sunday.

The total included two motorcyclists killed in Wyoming, one in Rapid City and two elsewhere in South Dakota. No motorcyclists were killed in Meade County during the rally, the first time since 1991 that the county and the city of Sturgis did not have a fatality, according to county Sheriff Ron Merwin.

The deaths included:

* Bruce Rossmeyer, 66, of Ormand Beach, Fla., who was on his way to the Sturgis rally when he was killed in an accident in southwestern Wyoming on Thursday, July 30. His motorcycle collided with a pickup pulling a trailer that was turning left onto a country road. He was not wearing a helmet, according to the Wyoming Highway Patrol.

* James B. Ingersoll, 36, of Riverside, Iowa, who was killed on Friday, July 31, on Interstate 90 about 13 miles west of Mitchell. Friends said he was on his way to the rally. Ingersoll swerved to avoid traffic that had slowed sharply, his bike went down and he was thrown into the oncoming traffic, according to the South Dakota Highway Patrol. He was not wearing a helmet.

* Sue E. Gentry, 58, of Rensselaer, Ind., who was killed Sunday, Aug. 2, on U.S. Highway 18 just west of Winner. Gentry was traveling west when a car driven by a Winner woman attempted to turn left in front of her. Gentry died at a Sioux Falls hospital. She was not wearing a helmet. The Winner woman is facing charges for making an illegal left turn, according to the Highway Patrol.

* Joseph C. Klusmeyer, 67, Odessa, Texas, who died Friday, Aug. 7, at Rapid City Regional Hospital from injuries he suffered in an accident on Wednesday morning, Aug. 5. Klusmeyer was traveling west on Wyoming Highway 24 about 5 miles east of Hulett, when he broke from the group of bikers, sped up to about 100 mph, and was unable to negotiate a curve and crashed, according to the Highway Patrol. He was not wearing a helmet.

* Timothy Sinor, 55, Clinton, Okla., who was killed Saturday, Aug. 8, when he lost control of his motorcycle on the east off ramp at Interstate 90 Exit 57 in Rapid City. He died at the scene.

There was another fatal motorcycle accident in South Dakota Sunday morning, but state Department of Public Safety officials did not know whether it was related to the rally. Timothy C. Linghor, 51, of Williston, N.D., was traveling north on Interstate 29 in northeast South Dakota when the Harley-Davidson he was driving drifted off the road and entered the ditch. The bike rolled, ejecting Linghor, who was not wearing a helmet. He died Sunday night at a Fargo Hospital.

There were two other motorcycle fatalities in Wyoming during the rally, but Wyoming Highway Patrol officials said they did not know whether they were related to the Sturgis rally.

During some years, there have been up to eight or 10 fatal motorcycle accidents during the rally just in the Black Hills area.

There were seven fatalities in 2003, according to Brooke Bohnenkamp, public information officer for the Department of Public Safety.

She and Highway Patrol officials said they did not know why the fatal accident rate was down for the Black Hills.

She said helmet use has been climbing gradually, at least as reflected in the department's statewide motorcycle accident statistics.

"It's encouraging, but it's certainly not as high as we'd like it to be," Bohnenkamp said.

In 1997, of the 340 motorcyclists injured in accidents in the state, 68 were wearing helmets, 20 percent of the total. Of the eight motorcyclists killed that year, only one wore a helmet.

In 2008, of the 523 motorcyclists hurt, 182, or 34.8 percent, were wearing helmets. Of the 15 motorcyclists killed in 2008, four were wearing helmets.

Contact Steve Miller at 394-8415 or steve.miller@rapidcityjournal.com.

Highway Patrol 2009 rally statistics

72 injury accidents throughout the Black Hills and Badlands area (60 in 2008).

316 DUI arrests in the Rapid City Highway Patrol District (253 in 2008).

153 misdemeanor drug arrests (191 in 2008).

43 felony drug arrests (35 in 2008).

3 other felony arrests (6 in 2008).

1,803 total citations (1,619 in 2008).

6 arrests for concealed weapons (7 in 2008).

10 vehicles seized for drug arrests (5 in 2008).