South Dakota Traffic Deaths Spiked in 2017

The South Dakota Office of Highway Safety says the number of traffic fatalities in the state continues to be among the lowest in the nation despite a spike in accidents near the end of 2017.

Highway Safety Director Lee Axdahl says South Dakota had 129 fatal crashes in 2017, up from 116 the year before. That figure was the second-lowest in state history.

KOTA-TV reports that Axdahl says the state was on pace to have fewer than 100 traffic fatalities in 2017 for the first time in state history but there were 42 deaths in the final three months of the year.