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Five cyclists killed in Michigan as pick-up truck driver ploughs into group rideBroken bike (CC licensed image by garryknight, www.flickr.com)

Five cyclists killed in Michigan as pick-up truck driver ploughs into group ride

Police had earlier received reports of vehicle being driven erratically in Kalamazoo
by Simon_MacMichael
Wed, Jun 08, 2016 11:21
8

Five cyclists were killed in Michigan yesterday when the driver of a pick-up truck ploughed into the group they were riding with. A further four people are in hospital with serious injuries. The driver attempted to flee on foot but was caught and is now in police custody.

The fatal incident happened at approximately 6.30pm yesterday on North Westnedge Avenue, Kalamazoo, reports CBS News.

According to Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting, the driver of the pick-up truck is a 50-year-old man from Michigan.

He added that around half an hour beforehand, the local police department, sheriff’s office and department of public safety had received reports of a pick-up truck being driven “erratically” and that officers were looking for it when the cyclists were hit.

One witness, Markus Eberhard, told WOOD-TV that his foot had almost been run over by the pick-up truck but before he was able to warn the riders, the motorist ploughed into them.

“I saw a bunch of bikes hit the front of his truck and a couple of them flew,” he added.

The riders are reported to have been part of a group that meets for weekly rides.

While incidents involving loss of life due to motor vehicles are thankfully extremely rare they are not unknown - in 2010 seven Italian cyclists were killed when a 21-year old driver, high on drugs, crashed in to a club ride near the Calabrian town of Lamezia Terme, The driver, Chafik El Katani was subsequently sentenced to eight years in prison.

Kalamazoo
Michigan
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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8 comments

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WillRod | 8 years ago
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I hope that for the families sake, they properly prosecute the driver.

it seems all too often that drivers who kill cyclists are handed lenient sentences because they didn't wear high viz underwear or that the cyclist should have cycled on a pot-hole riddled cycle path instead of on the road.

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bendertherobot replied to WillRod | 8 years ago
0 likes

WillRod wrote:

I hope that for the families sake, they properly prosecute the driver.

it seems all too often that drivers who kill cyclists are handed lenient sentences because they didn't wear high viz underwear or that the cyclist should have cycled on a pot-hole riddled cycle path instead of on the road.

 

All too often in the US?

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Accessibility f... | 8 years ago
0 likes

Happy to see you've reported it as a "truck being driven", as opposed to other news outlets, who've written "a truck crashed into".

Avatar
tritecommentbot | 8 years ago
1 like

Mass killing by any other name.

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Carton replied to tritecommentbot | 8 years ago
0 likes

unconstituted wrote:

Mass killing by any other name.

When you posted this I thought up the implied scenario in my head but decided against posting it, just in case. Unfortunately the idea was never that hard to think up. Sad, sad day. 

Avatar
tritecommentbot replied to Carton | 8 years ago
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Carton wrote:

unconstituted wrote:

Mass killing by any other name.

When you posted this I thought up the implied scenario in my head but decided against posting it, just in case. Unfortunately the idea was never that hard to think up. Sad, sad day. 

 

Really is. Shows us that terrorism really can't be stopped by security when everyone had access to something so destructive. Either we create a fairer world or we deal with the consequences.

Avatar
Mungecrundle replied to tritecommentbot | 8 years ago
0 likes

 

unconstituted wrote:

Really is. Shows us that terrorism really can't be stopped by security when everyone had access to something so destructive. Either we create a fairer world or we deal with the consequences.

 

I wish you luck on your diplomatic trip to ISIS controlled territory, and look forward to hearing your report on their vision for a 'fairer world'.

Avatar
tritecommentbot replied to Mungecrundle | 8 years ago
1 like

Mungecrundle wrote:

 

unconstituted wrote:

Really is. Shows us that terrorism really can't be stopped by security when everyone had access to something so destructive. Either we create a fairer world or we deal with the consequences.

 

I wish you luck on your diplomatic trip to ISIS controlled territory, and look forward to hearing your report on their vision for a 'fairer world'.

 

Fairer world =/ diplomacy with existing terrorist groups. That doesn't even make sense. Worse, sounds like gibberish.

 

Besides, the majority of people killed from mass killings are not from groups like IS. Most deaths have been caused by white disadvantaged men. 

 

The vast majority of violent criminals come from disdvantaged backgrounds, in all societies. Including yes, predominantly Muslim ones. Fact. Education and wealth are the best weapons against terrorism. Poor, disenfranchised, Muslims are regularly targetted and groomed in the Middle East for example.

 

All the trite Daily Heil soundbites won't change that. 

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