Pickup plows through cyclists; 5 dead
After driving KALAMAZOO through a group of bicyclists Tuesday, killing five and injuring four, a pickup on a two-lane road north of Kalamazoo looked “like it hit a brick wall,” a neighbor said.
“The hood was folded up to about the middle of the hood,” said Bob Coffman, 68, who lives across North Westnedge Avenue from the crash scene in Cooper Township, Mich. “I could see the bikes down there in the road, in pieces.”
He said Wednesday that he didn’t witness the crash, but he was home and helped the police search for a possible body. A bicycle with a back wheel “all busted and bent” had landed by a rock in his front yard, dozens of yards from the crash scene. They were concerned someone may have been ejected into the nearby foliage, but they didn’t find anyone in his yard.
The pickup driver, a 50-yearold west Michigan resident, was in custody, and a decision on possible charges probably will come Thursday.
The five victims died at the scene.
Two of the people involved in the crash were treated at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, spokeswoman Carolyn Wyllie said. Wednesday morning, she said the two were in serious condition.
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder issued a statement Wednesday about the crash:
“My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Kalamazoo and particularly the cyclists and their families,” Snyder’s statement said. “The State Police were called to assist in the investigation and will continue to provide all the resources they can to help determine what exactly happened last night. What we already know for certain is that Michiganders as a family are in mourning today as Kalamazoo struggles to understand another senseless tragedy.”
Coffman said he saw the group of 15-20 cyclists pass his house about two to three times per week.
“It’s terrible,” Coffman said. “People just went out for a bicycle ride, never expecting they weren’t going to go home.”