Driver of pickup charged with murder in bicyclists’ deaths

The conditions of two of those injured in Tuesday’s truck crash near Kalamazoo that killed five cyclists have improved. Getting said Pickett was “in custody” but would not say where he was being held.

If found guilty, Pickett could face life in prison on the murder charges.

The bicyclists that were killed have been identified as, Debra Ann BradleyMelissa Ann Fevig-Hughes, Fred Anton Nelson, Lorenz John Paulik, and Suzanne Joan Sippel.

“As members of the Kalamazoo community we have all been dealt a devastating blow by the deaths and injuries of so many innocent people”, Getting said.

The bicyclists were part of a group called “The Chain Gang” and their ages ranged from 40 to 74. A public defender will be appointed, but Pickett says he may replace that attorney at a later point. 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.

Five bike riders were pronounced dead at the scene while four others were taken to the hospital.

“There’s been some speculation about, first, that he was drunk, second that there was something else in his system, third, now nothing at all is in his system”, Getting said of Pickett. We havent reached any conclusions yet.”Five people were killed and four were injured Tuesday when a pickup struck a large group of bicyclists from behind on a two-lane road in Kalamazoo Countys Cooper Township, 160 miles from Chicago.“This wasnt coming around the bend and suddenly there were bicyclists there, ” said Paul Selden, a bicyclist who knows the road and talked to an NTSB investigator. Battle Creek Police Chief Jim Blocker said Pickett had no arrest record in Battle Creek.

“The investigation is not over and the police will continue to gather information on what led up to the crash”, Kalamazoo Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Getting said in a statement to BuzzFeed News.

Kalamazoo bicycle crash suspect Charles Edward Pickett Jr. was arraigned on second-degree murder and reckless driving charges this afternoon. The prosecutor said preliminary crime lab results have been received, but he declined to say what the findings were. The driver was a 50-year-old man who fled but was caught by police shortly afterward.

The injured cyclists are Paul Gobble, 47, Sheila Jeske, 53, and Paul Runnels, 65, all from Richland; and Jennifer Johnson, 40, from Kalamazoo.

Gobble was in serious condition and Johnson was in fair condition at Borgess Medical Center in Kalamazoo.