The cyclists were members of a group, dubbed “The Chain Gang”, that made regular rides every Tuesday evening.
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Charges have been filed in a deadly crash that killed five bicyclists in MI.
Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeffrey Getting declined to say on Thursday what caused Pickett to drive into the cyclists.
Five people Debbie Bradley, Melissa Fevig-Hughes, Tony Nelson, Larry Paulik and Suzanne Sippel were killed. Charles Edward Pickett Jr. faces five counts of second degree murder. They are Paul Douglas Gobble, 47 of Richland, Mi., Sheila Diane Jeske, 53, of Richland, Mi., Jennifer Lynn Johnson, 40 of Kalamazoo, Mi., and Paul Lewis Runnels, 65, of Richland, Mi.
“The filing of formal charges is only the first step in the judicial process”, said Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting, CBS affiliate WWMT reported.
DETROIT (AP) – A MI prosecutor filed murder charges Thursday against the 50-year-old driver of a pickup truck that struck a group of bicyclists out for a casual ride, killing five of them and seriously injuring four others. Four others are still in the hospital, one of them is in critical condition. Their group was 5 miles into a planned 30-mile ride when they were struck, she said.
Battle Creek Police Chief Jim Blocker said Pickett had no arrest record in Battle Creek.
“Everything I know about the case influenced the seriousness of the charges”, Getting said.
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Stunned biking enthusiasts joined relatives and friends of the riders Wednesday in mourning the cyclists, leaving flowers, a commemorative “ghost bike” and a small wooden cross at the crash scene and gathering by the hundreds for a five-mile “silent ride”. He remains in custody. Police fielded complaints that a pickup truck was being driven erratically just minutes before the vehicle slammed into a group of bicyclists in western MI, killing several, authorities said. The other two victims are in serious condition. “I just notice on Tuesdays that there is a group of bicyclists with their bright outfits on, normally ten to 15 of them, that are riding on the road”, said bicyclist Carolyn Burns. He said he dropped out several years ago to focus on running.
