A little more than two years ago, Charles Pickett, Jr., was driving his pickup truck in Kalamazoo, Michigan, while high on painkillers and muscle relaxers. As he passed a group of cyclists belonging to the local Chain Gang Bicycle Club, he veered onto the shoulder of the road, hitting the riders from behind at nearly 60 mph. The impact killed five cyclists and severely injured four others. It’s been called the deadliest car-bike crash in US history.

That violent and tragic story seemed to come to a close on Monday, when a judge sentenced Pickett, 52, to more than 40 years in prison. Paul Bridenstine, a judge in the Kalamazoo County Circuit Court, gave Pickett 35-55 years for each of the five counts of second-degree murder he had faced for his role in the crash.

Pickett also received 8-15 years for each of five counts of driving while intoxicated causing death, and 3-5 years for each of four counts of driving while intoxicated causing serious injury. Bridenstine ruled that Pickett would serve all the second-degree murder counts concurrently. The same went for all counts of DWI causing death. His DWI causing injury sentence will be served concurrently with the other charges.

Given the time he’s already served, Pickett will spend at least another four decades behind bars. He’ll be 90 years old before he’s eligible for release.

During the sentencing hearing, crash survivors and family members of the deceased told the court of the suffering they’ve endured since the June 2016 crash. Madeline Bradley talked about how losing her mother, Debra Ann Bradley, left her “shattered,” just five days after her high school graduation.

“The weight of losing my mother was something I was not strong enough to handle,” Bradley said. “At 18, my life had become so consumed by sadness that I no longer had the strength to live for myself. So I chose to live for my dad and my brother and my best friend. I chose to live for all the people who couldn’t possibly take any more pain than they were given. I chose to live for [my mother]. Even then, it was her that was saving me.”

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Moments before his sentencing, Pickett gave a tearful apology to his victims and their families.



“I’m very sorry,” he said. “I wish this tragedy had never happened. There’s nothing I can do to ever take it back. I’ll live with this the rest of my life. I would give my life for the people that got murdered or killed and maimed and everything else. I just want to say I’m sorry.”

Outside the courtroom afterward, Paul Gobble, one of the four crash survivors, told MLive.com that he found Pickett’s apology “underwhelming.” Still, he was relieved to have some closure on the incident that’s had such a massive impact on him, his family, and the cycling community both in Kalamazoo and nationwide.

“I feel great to be able to, as far as I’m concerned, be the last time I have to come to the courthouse,” Gobble said. “Instead [I’ll] just be able to focus on riding for the love of it and being with friends and family. I feel great.”

Robert Annis After spending nearly a decade as a reporter for The Indianapolis Star, Robert Annis finally broke free of the shackles of gainful employment and now freelances full time, specializing in cycling and outdoor-travel journalism. Over the years, Robert's byline has appeared in numerous publications and websites, including Outside, National Geographic Traveler, Afar, Bicycling, Men's Journal, Popular Mechanics, Lonely Planet, the Chicago Tribune, and Adventure.com

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