A Year After Michigan Driver Killed Five Cyclists, The Survivors Struggle

It’s been a year since one of the most serious cycling accidents in recent times when a Michigan driver killed five cyclists.

A report in the Oakland Press News highlighted the trauma faced over the last 12 years by the four survivors. Some of them were seriously injured in the crash.

The riders were struck by a blue pickup truck seen being driven erratically only minutes earlier, police in Kalamazoo said.

The 50-year-old driver is said to have taken large quantities of pain pills and muscle relaxers before the crash. Five of the riders of the Chain Gang Bicycle Club died at the scene and four others were seriously injured.

Paul Gobble is one of the survivors. He told the Oakland Press News that the survivors faced a long and painful battle. And those who survived faced a “pretty grim and unfortunate realization.”

Although Gobble was wearing a helmet, he sustained a brain injury, broken ribs, a broken leg and fractured vertebrae in his back and neck.

He still rides his bike but faces a feeling of numbness, general pain, and endurance issues.

Gobble told the Oakland Press News in an interview.

“I am humbled and amazed that I have been through what I have been through and recovered as I have. It is fascinating when I speak with the doctors and they talk about the brain, and it has a lot of capacity to adapt or be fixed. While I still have challenges that I deal with, I am comforted.”

Gobble carries a video camera with him on rides to record his trips in case he’s ever hit again by a vehicle. He said these kinds of cameras are becoming more common to record aggressive drivers.

The case in which a Michigan driver killed five cyclists is an extreme accident, but riders face daily dangers on the roads of Virginia and elsewhere.

The pickup driver, Charles Edward Pickett Jr., was charged with five counts of second-degree murder after he crashed his pickup truck into the cycling group, according to Kalamazoo County Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Getting.

He was charged with a further four counts of reckless driving causing serious impairment. He could face life in prison on the murder charges.
At Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers, we champion the rights of those on two wheels. If you have been hurt in an accident please call our Virginia cycling injury lawyers at (757) 333-3333.