Charles Pickett Jr.

Charles Pickett Jr. was born in 1975 in the United States. By adulthood, he was residing in Battle Creek, Michigan. Public records and court proceedings provide limited information about his early life, family background, or education, and no comprehensive biographical profile was released prior to the events that later brought him national attention.

Pickett had prior contact with law enforcement before 2016. In 2011, he was arrested in Tennessee on a charge of driving under the influence. That charge was later dismissed and did not result in a conviction. Aside from this incident, no extensive criminal history was widely documented before the fatal crash in Kalamazoo County.

In the years leading up to 2016, Pickett was living independently and legally licensed to operate a motor vehicle. There were no public indications that he was under court supervision or subject to driving restrictions at the time of the incident. His life before the crash remained largely outside public scrutiny until the fatal events of June 7, 2016, fundamentally altered his legal status and public identity.

On the evening of June 7, 2016, a group of cyclists known locally as the “Chain Gang” was riding together along Westnedge Avenue near Markin Glen County Park in Cooper Township, Kalamazoo County, Michigan. At approximately 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time, a pickup truck driven by Charles Pickett Jr. struck the cyclists from behind.

Prior to the collision, witnesses observed the pickup truck being driven erratically through Cooper Township. The vehicle was reported to law enforcement approximately 30 minutes before the crash occurred. Despite the report, the truck continued to travel through the area. Accident reconstruction experts later testified that Pickett was driving at approximately 58 miles per hour in a posted 30-mile-per-hour zone at the time of impact.

The collision resulted in the deaths of five cyclists: Debbie Bradley, age 53, of Augusta; Suzanne Joan Sippel, age 56, of Augusta; Lorenz John “Larry” Paulik, age 74, of Kalamazoo; Fred Anton “Tony” Nelson, age 73, of Kalamazoo; and Melissa Ann Fevig Hughes, age 42, of Augusta. Four additional cyclists sustained serious injuries. Emergency responders arrived at the scene within two minutes of the crash.

Pickett fled the scene immediately following the collision but was located and arrested shortly thereafter. Toxicology testing conducted by the Michigan State Police Crime Lab revealed that he was under the influence of multiple substances at the time of the crash, including methamphetamine, muscle relaxants, and prescription pain medication.

Due to the scale and severity of the incident, the National Transportation Safety Board led an independent investigation. In its final report, issued on April 25, 2017, the NTSB determined that the probable cause of the crash was the impairing effects of Pickett’s polysubstance use in the hours leading up to the collision.

The Kalamazoo County Prosecutor initially charged Pickett with five counts of second-degree murder and four counts of reckless driving. After reviewing toxicology findings, prosecutors amended the charges to include five counts of operating a vehicle while intoxicated causing death and four counts of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury, replacing the reckless driving charges.

In 2018, Pickett stood trial in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court. A jury found him guilty on all charges after approximately four hours of deliberation. He was sentenced to an aggregate term of 40 to 75 years in prison. The sentence was structured through concurrent and consecutive terms across multiple convictions, including second-degree murder and operating while intoxicated causing death and injury.

Charles Pickett Jr. is currently incarcerated at Thumb Correctional Facility in Michigan, where he continues to serve his sentence. A permanent memorial honoring the five cyclists killed in the crash was later installed at Markin Glen County Park and unveiled on the second anniversary of the tragedy.