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Battle Creek man charged in crash that killed five cyclists

A bike painted white in memory of a cyclist
Matthew Peoples
/
Creative Commons http://j.mp/1SPGCl0

A Michigan prosecutor has charged 50-year-old Charles Edward Pickett Jr. with five counts of second degree murder after a pickup truck crashed into a group of bicyclists and killed five people.

Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeffrey Getting also charged him Thursday with four counts of reckless driving resulting in serious injury to four others near Kalamazoo.

The bicyclists were part of a group that called themselves "The Chain Gang," who ranged in age from 40 to 74.

They were five miles into a weekly 30-mile ride when they were struck from behind on a road in the western Michigan countryside.

Police say they had received complaints about a pickup driving erratically and were searching for it minutes before the crash.

It was not immediately known whether Pickett has an attorney.

The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting.
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