Nearly two years after what’s believed to be the deadliest car-bike crash in American history, the allegedly impaired driver in the incident is going to trial.

Charles Pickett Jr. faces five counts of second-degree murder for his role in the deadly June 2016 crash in Kalamazoo, Michigan. According to prosecutors, Pickett, now 52, was high on painkillers and muscle relaxers when he struck nine members of the local Chain Gang Bicycle Club with his pickup truck in the early evening of June 7. Five cyclists—Debbie Bradley, Melissa Fevig-Hughes, Tony Nelson, Larry Paulik, and Suzanne Sippel—were killed. Riders Douglas Gobble, Sheila Jeske, Jennifer Johnson, and Paul Runnels were severely injured.

The nine victims were several miles into their regular Tuesday training ride when Pickett allegedly veered onto the shoulder of the road, hitting the group from behind at a high rate of speed. The impact caved in the front of his truck, disabling it, while the bikes shattered into dozens of pieces. Police described the scene as “a war zone.”

Pickett was found hiding in the weeds a short distance from the crash site. Authorities found marijuana, the muscle relaxer Cyclobenzaprine, the opioid painkiller Tramadol, and methamphetamines in his truck.

The front of Charles Pickett’s truck after the June 2016 crash that killed five cyclists. Mark Bugnaski/Kalamazoo Gazette-MLive Media Group AP

Jury selection began Monday, with Pickett’s trial slated to start on Wednesday. Jeff Getting, the prosecuting attorney for Kalamazoo County, said he expects the trial to last up to two weeks. If convicted, Pickett faces multiple life sentences. Getting said the state has offered no plea deals and doesn’t expect to going forward.

In addition to the murder charges, Pickett faces four counts of reckless driving causing death, a charge that carries a sentence of up to 15 years. His lawyer, Alan Koenig, reportedly plans to use an insanity defence.

Over the past year, Koenig fought to have the most serious charges against Pickett thrown out, arguing that the “intent for second-degree murder was lacking.” Kalamazoo County Circuit Court Judge Paul Bridenstine quashed Koenig’s motion, and the Michigan Court of Appeals eventually declined to hear his appeal. Koenig also fought to suppress Pickett’s statements to police while he was in the hospital after the crash, arguing that officers should have read Pickett his Miranda rights a second time. Bicycling was unable to reach Koenig for comment.

Getting said the decision to charge Pickett with second-degree murder was justified based on the facts of the case, and that he “wouldn’t be surprised if we see more instances of this type of charge” in the future. Murder charges—and indeed, any criminal charges at all—are rarely brought against drivers involved in serious car-bike crashes. Cyclists and attorneys across the country plan to closely watch the Kalamazoo trial for this very reason.



“If this motorist was under the influence of drugs and drove into a group of cyclists, it appears to meet the definition of second-degree murder as defined in the Michigan penal code,” Colorado cycling attorney Megan Hottman said. “[In this case,] murder charges being filed is a good thing. It carries higher penalties and doesn't let an at-fault driver off the hook as other charges, like vehicular manslaughter, sometimes can.”

Prosecutors and law enforcement are realizing that “these types of events are not just unfortunate accidents, but serious events worthy of criminal prosecution,” Maine cycling attorney Lauri Boxer-Macomber said. “This is important because as the public continues to see that prosecutors are taking dangerous driving around cyclists seriously, social norms begin to change, and people start driving more carefully around bicyclists.”

Boxer-Macomber said she hopes that harsher charges and penalties against deadly drivers will have a trickle-down effect, with prosecutors “pursuing criminal charges and traffic citations against everyday drivers who violate speeding, distracted driving, failure to yield, and safe passing laws. Too often those incidents are excused or let go.” She added that when states fail to charge, or at least ticket, dangerous drivers, it sends a message that putting cyclists at risk is “not that big of a deal.”

Charles Pickett Jr. mugshot Kalamazoo Sheriff's Department

Because of the horrific nature of the Kalamazoo crash, public sentiment seems to lie solidly with the dead and injured riders. However, often when a driver injures or kills a cyclist, the general public feels sympathy for the driver, according to League of Michigan Bicyclists executive director John Lindenmayer. Conscious or unconscious biases, he said, means “efforts to hold drivers accountable are usually pretty weak.”

“Many people don’t bicycle, and some of them don’t believe that bikes should even be on the road,” Lindenmayer said. “So they put themselves in the shoes of the driver.” This bears out in how police and courts treat drivers, whether impaired or not, who strike cyclists with their cars.

“High-profile cases like [Kalamazoo] will not only encourage lawmakers to pass needed legislation, but also bring about culture change,” Lindenmayer said. “Drivers will identify the rider in front of them as a wife or a father trying to get home to their family, and not just some obstacle they have to get around.”

If Pickett is convicted of murder, most of the experts interviewed for this story agreed it could encourage prosecutors across the country to file more serious charges in similar cases.

“It would definitely confirm that murder is the correct place to start when a motorist hits and kills a cyclist,” Hottman said. “It is murder, especially where drugs, alcohol, and/or excessive speed are involved.”

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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