Truck slams into bicyclists in Michigan, killing 5

A man who said he witnessed the incident in Cooper Township, just a few miles from Kalamazoo, told WOOD-TV that the truck was moving erratically and nearly hit him.

Getting’s office identified the crash victims on Wednesday as Debra Ann Bradley, 53; Melissa Ann Fevig-Hughes, 42; Tony Nelson, 73; Larry Paulik, 74; and Suzanne Joan Sippel, 56. They are Paul Douglas Gobble, 47 of Richland; Sheila Diane Jeske, 53, of Richland; Jennifer Lynn Johnson, 40 of Kalamazoo; and Paul Lewis Runnels, 65, of Richland. “People just went out for a bicycle ride never expecting they weren’t going to go home”.

The pickup’s driver fled on foot but was later arrested. Police had not yet released the driver’s name as of late Wednesday.

“He is in custody and we’ll be looking at as much information as we can develop over the next 36 hours in an effort to determine what charges are appropriate”, Getting said.

Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas tells WZZM-TV and WOOD-TV it is unclear how many people have been killed in the early Tuesday evening crash near a park in Cooper Township. Of the four injured cyclists, one is in serious condition; the condition of the others is not known. A hospital spokesperson told Fox 17 that one of the injured victims was in critical condition while a second was in fair condition.

The driver of the pickup, described as a 50-year-old western MI man, fled from the wrecked vehicle, and police caught him a short time later.

The nine cyclists were struck from behind by a blue Chevy pickup as they were traveling north on the shoulder of a road in Cooper Township, Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney Jeffrey Getting said.

Governor Snyder said yesterday that Michigan State Police are committing additional resources to assist in the investigation.

Authorities received reports of a man driving erratically along a road in Cooper Township – a town just north of Kalamazoo – during the half hour before the cyclists were struck from behind. The pickup almost rolled over his foot and before Eberhard could warn the bicyclists they were hit, he said.

Getting says the calls made to several area agencies were “over concerns” about the pickup driver’s driving.