A Texas man has died after a motorcycle accident Thursday evening west of Lead.

Dennis Welch, 48, of Cypress was traveling west on U.S. Highway 14A four miles west of Lead about 8:30 p.m. Thursday when a deer came out of the ditch, according to Capt. Kevin Karley of the South Dakota Highway Patrol. Welch's motorcycle struck the deer, throwing him from the motorcycle.

He was taken to Deadwood Regional Hospital and then airlifted to Rapid City Regional Hospital, where he died.

Welch is the third person to die during the Sturgis motorcycle rally since it officially started Monday.

Other crashes Thursday included:

* At 12:20 p.m., a multiple motorcycle crash occurred on U.S. Highway 16A one mile west of Keystone. A 2003 Yamaha motorcycle operated by Lee Thompson, 58, of Anoka, Minn., was traveling east. Thompson crossed the center line of the road and collided with a westbound Harley-Davidson motorcycle operated by Bruce Allen, 50, Ham Lake, Minn. Janine Allen, 57, was a passenger on the Harley and suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to Rapid City Regional Hospital.

Bruce Allen and Lee Thompson were both taken by ambulance to Rapid City Regional Hospital with serious injuries.

Three people traveling with Thompson each struck Thompson's motorcycle while it was in the road: Jesse Smith, 27, St. Francis, Minn., Brian Klucsar, 29, Stacy, Minn., and Allyssa Newbury, 24 Andover, Minn. Newbury was seriously injured and was taken to Rapid City Regional Hospital. Klucsar and Smith were not injured.

Thompson was cited for driving on the wrong side of the road. Speed and alcohol were not factors in the crash.

* At 12:26 p.m., a 2006 Harley-Davidson motorcycle driven by Randall Eggars, 53, Grayslake, Ill., was traveling north on S.D. Highway 87 three miles north of the U.S. 16A junction, when Eggars lost control while negotiating a curve. Both Eggars and his wife, Caroline, 50, received injuries that were not life-threatening.

* At 12:33 p.m., a motorcycle driven by Lawrence Pourier, 39, of Porcupine, was traveling north on Bethlehem Road. The motorcycle went off the roadway and into a sign. Pourier was later taken to Rapid City Regional Hosptial from Sturgis. Pourier suffered minor injuries in the crash; he was arrested on suspicions of driving under the influence.

* At 5:35 p.m., a motorcycle driven by David Wolfe, 49, of Oklahoma City was traveling north on Vanocker Canyon Road. A deer came out of the west ditch and struck the left side of the motorcycle. Wolfe was serious injured and was taken to Deadwood Regional Hospital.