5 killed when pickup truck hits bicyclists
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Five people were killed Tuesday when a group of bicyclists was struck by a pickup truck, CBS affiliate WWMT reported.
Investigators told the station nine people in all were hit when the vehicle came up behind them around 6:30 p.m. on North Westnedge Avenue, near Markin Glen Park. The driver fled on foot but was captured a short time later.
At a news conference late Tuesday, Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting said the driver is a 50-year-old man from west Michigan. He would not release the man's name but said he was in police custody.
About 30 minutes before the crash, several people called the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, Kalamazoo Township Police Department and the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office to report a pickup truck driving erratically, Getting said. Police were not pursuing the vehicle when it struck the group.
Getting said the four other bicyclists suffered serious injuries and were being treated at two local hospitals. None of the victims were publicly identified, as authorities were attempting to notify their families.
Witnesses told WWMT they heard squealing tires and a loud bang before they rushed out of their homes.
One man said he saw a fleeing car, and a woman told WWMT she saw mangled bicycles spread across the road.
"It's not good. I'm glad they got the guy, they caught him from running," a witness said.