A 50-year-old man has been charged with five counts of second-degree murder in Tuesday's hit-and-run that killed five cyclists.
Charles Pickett Jr. faces five counts of second-degree murder for plowing into a group of cyclists, of which five died at the scene. He also faces four counts of reckless driving for seriously injuring the other four. Pickett could face up to life in prison if convicted. Each count of reckless driving could warrant up to five years in prison. He will be arraigned as soon as Friday.
Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeffrey Getting declined to say on Thursday what caused Pickett to drive into the cyclists. Murder charges require intent to kill or willful disregard of the likelihood that one's actions would cause death. Intoxication is also not being mentioned.
Police received multiple calls from the area on Tuesday of the pickup truck being driven erratically, sideswiping other cars and nearly hitting a house about 30 minutes before the crash.
"I will wait for [crime lab] reports before I tell anyone what was or was not in his system at the time, because for me to suggest something was or was not is simply speculative," Getting said at the news conference.
0 Response to "Driver charged with murder in Michigan hit-and-run that killed five cyclists"
Post a Comment