Excerpts:
KALAMAZOO, MI – A pickup truck was fully off the road, traveling down the right shoulder of North Westnedge Avenue when it found and ran down nine cyclists there on June 7.
A witness said all four of the pickup truck's tires were to the right side of the fog line (the white line that separates the roadway from the shoulder) when it began striking the cyclists.
Speaking of a witness, they reported, "He also stated that he never saw brake lights come on from the truck" and he could not tell if its engine was revving or slowing.
Police alleged that Charles Pickett Jr., 50, of Battle Creek, took handfuls of pain pills and muscle relaxers less than two hours before he climbed into his full-sized 1996 Chevrolet Silverado on June 7 and started driving erratically.
-Multiple impacts with the pickup truck vaulted some of the cyclists off the east shoulder of the roadway and into a retaining fence. Others were carried up the roadway and thrown north of the truck. Sgt. James Campbell, of the Michigan State Police, reported, "Some of the bikes were thrown off the east side of the roadway to the east. Some were run over. Some were located north of the final rest of the truck and one tire was located in the bed of the truck."
-The total distance of the crash site was 335 feet, measuring from the first point of evidence found by police (a bicycle helmet) to the furthest point in the north (a bicycle), according to the report by Campbell. He stated that the cyclists were on the east shoulder of the road at or near the painted fog line. "It was unclear if all the bikes were single file or if they were two abreast at any time," he reported.
-A male motorist who arrived at the crash scene at about 6:13 p.m. said the pickup truck was still steaming when he arrived but he did not see the driver. He said one of the cyclists who was killed came to rest on a fence. Two others came to rest one on top of one another. He attempted to comfort a male survivor was in the middle of the road.
-The crash occurred 200 feet north of the entrance to Markin Glen County Park at a speed of not less than 58 mph, according to a state police report. It occurred in a 35-mph section of roadway.
Entire article is here:
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2016/07/police_provide_details_on_pick.html
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