Cyclist Offers Forgiveness After Crash Kills 5 Fellow Riders

KALAMAZOO (WWJ/AP) - A bicyclist who survived being hit by a pickup that killed five of her fellow riders in southwestern Michigan says she doesn't harbor anger toward the truck's driver.

Jennifer Johnson told the Kalamazoo Gazette on Thursday at Borgess Medical Center that she has "no ill will toward him" and offers her forgiveness. The 40-year-old Kalamazoo woman was the lead bicyclist June 7 and has multiple broken bones.

The driver, Charles Pickett Jr. of Battle Creek, is charged with second-degree murder and other crimes. He's being held without bond.

Johnson says she doesn't remember the crash itself, which happened in Kalamazoo County's Cooper Township. Three other riders are recovering.

Police said they had received complaints about a pickup being driven erratically and were searching for it minutes before the crash. Pickett fled but was caught by police shortly afterward.

The bicyclists killed have been identified as as Debra Ann Bradley, 53; Melissa Ann Fevig-Hughes, 42; Suzanne Joan Sippel, 56, all of Augusta; and Fred Anton "Tony" Nelson, 73, and Lorenz John "Larry" Paulik, 74, both of Kalamazoo.

The group was about five miles into a planned 30-mile ride when they were struck.

Meantime on Thursday, crews created a temporary bike route that's designed to create a safer route in the city, according to WOOD-TV.

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