“They were just casual cyclists who enjoyed the ride”, said Rose, 58, of Galesburg, who participated in Wednesday’s memorial ride wearing a shirt with a Chain Gang logo.
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The pickup was disabled in the crash, Getting said.
He said the 911 calls led several agencies to start looking for the driver of a blue pickup truck before the crash but declined to provide more details about the erratic driving.
Paul Seldon, the Director of Road Safety for the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club, says what happened Tuesday night on North Westnedge Avenue in Cooper Township was a senseless tragedy – the worst ever certainly in Kalamazoo County and perhaps in state history.
An earlier report said children were involved, but Getting said that all cyclists killed and injured were adults.
Bronson Methodist Hospital says it is treating two patients.
Gov. Rick Snyder issued a statement of condolence to the victims’ families and the community on Wednesday.
“This was a moving target”, Getting said. “I can’t go into specifics on that”.
State police are assisting in the ongoing investigation, Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas said in an email Wednesday.
Five people were pronounced dead at the scene.
Police have arrested the driver of the truck – and charges, if there are any, are expected to be filed tomorrow. New evidence reveals Tuesday night’s deadly crash might have been prevented.
Pickett is hospitalized and in police custody.
The driver of the pickup, described as a 50-year-old western MI man, fled from the wrecked vehicle, but police caught him a short time later. Concerned neighbors looked on in horror as word of the tragedy circulated.
Witness Markus Eberhard told WOOD-TV that he was leaving the park after going fishing when someone yelled at him to watch out. “I already heard a bunch of bikes hit his front end”. The area still is dealing with the random fatal shootings of six people and wounding of two others in February.
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“I know some of the specifics about where he was, where he came from”, Getting said of Pickett. “I just wish we had more of an opportunity to get our feet under us before we had to do it again”.
