Five bicyclists were killed while riding down the side of a rural southwest Michigan road near Kalamazoo and four others were injured when a pickup truck plowed into them on Tuesday evening, reported Reuters.
The 50-year-old driver of the pickup, who has not been named, is in custody and charges against him could be filed on Thursday after the investigation into the crash is concluded, the local prosecutor said on Tuesday night.
Michigan State Police were called in to help determine what happened, Gov. Rick Snyder said in a statement on Wednesday.
The cyclists were struck at about 6:30 p.m. local time along the shoulder of a rural road north of Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Getting told a news conference on Tuesday.
The man was taken into custody a short distance from the collision, Getting said.
Five bike riders were pronounced dead at the scene while four riders were taken to hospital. The identification of those killed and injured will not be made public until families are notified, Getting said.
All cyclists killed and injured were adults, Getting said. He gave no further details about the bike riding group.
Local ABC affiliate WZZM reported that one rider was in critical condition and another was in fair condition. The condition of the other two injured riders was unclear, the news station said.
Several local law enforcement agencies received calls reporting that the vehicle was being driven erratically about 30 minutes before the collision, according to Getting and local media reports.
Kalamazoo County Undersheriff Paul Matyas told local broadcaster WOOD, an NBC affiliate, that the driver fled on foot after the collision.
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