UPDATE – 6/8 at 10:05 a.m.: State Sen. Margaret O’ Brien, R-Portage, has released a statement:
“Kalamazoo County has again experienced a senseless tragedy. Nine people were randomly attacked while enjoying a bicycle ride. No explanation can bring back the lives of the five people killed. As we learn more about the victims, it is important we again rally together and support those impacted. We are Kalamazoo Strong. I continue to pray for all the victims and their families.”
UPDATE – 6/8 at 9:08 a.m.: Both cyclists at Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo are in serious condition, accoring to a press release.
UPDATE – 6/8 at 9:02 a.m.: Gov. Rick Snyder has released a statement on the tragedy Tuesday in Cooper Township.
“My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Kalamazoo and particularly the cyclists and their families. The State Police were called to assist in the investigation and will continue to provide all the resources they can to help determine what exactly happened last night. What we already know for certain is that Michiganders as a family are in mourning today as Kalamazoo struggles to understand another senseless tragedy.”
UPDATE – 6/8 at 6:37 a.m.: A statement has been published by Renee Mitchell, the President of the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club:
“The Kalamazoo Bicycle Club family was deeply saddened to learn that nine local bicyclists were hit and five killed by a suspected drunk driver Tuesday evening. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends impacted by this entirely preventable tragedy. In the next few days, as we learn more information we will make a more extensive statement.”
Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the suspect was drunk at the time of the wreck.
UPDATE – 6/7 at 11:09 p.m.: The driver is a 50-year-old from west Michigan, but Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting would not elaborate. No children were involved. Calls began to come in about the pickup driving erratically near the top of the 6 p.m. hour.
UPDATE – 6/7 at 11:02 p.m.: Now confirmed, five are dead and four are hospitalized.
UPDATE – 6/7 at 10:59 p.m.: A statement has been released by Paul Selden, the Director of Road Safety for the Kalamazoo Bicycle Club:
“I know from working closely with area leadership that we are working to make our community even more bicycle friendly. This senseless tragedy — in my memory, the worst of its kind in Kalamazoo County, and possibly in the entire State of Michigan — underscores that we can do much more. Motorists and bicyclists need to share the road safely throughout the year, but especially during peak bicycling season.”
UPDATE – 6/7 at 10:27 p.m.: Two of the bicyclists have been taken to Boregess Medical Center in Kalamazoo. One is in critical condition, while the other is in fair condition.
Both victims are in the hospital’s intensive care unit. They were not identified.
ORIGINAL STORY:
COOPER TOWNSHIP, MI. (WKZO-AM) — There are reports that as many as five people have been killed by a pickup driver who reportedly plowed into a group of bicyclists peddling along North Westnedge Avenue, north of Markin Glen Park and south of F Avenue in Cooper Township.
Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Pauli Matyas said investigators are still compiling information and some of what has been reported by other news agencies isn’t entirely accurate.
Matyas said some of the riders in the group were children. Eyewitnesses said the driver of the vehicle fled the scene on foot but has since been taken into custody.
Multiple police agencies will take part in a news conference at 11 p.m.
We will be updating this site as we get new information.
– Anthony Pollreisz contributed to this story
