KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Survivors of a deadly collision between a pickup and nine bicyclists say they have no recollection of the June, 2016 crash, but gave gripping testimony of what it’s been like trying to rebuild their shattered lives.
One went on medication after being called an “anger zombie’’ by his young daughter; another used a colostomy bag for several months while recovering from a shattered pelvis. Another recalled the panic of having to look for her leg.
“I struggled when I couldn’t find my right leg. I found it very acutely over my right shoulder,’’ the lead rider, Jennifer Johnson, testified Wednesday in Kalamazoo County Circuit Court.
The man accused of causing their injuries, 52-year-old Charles Pickett Jr., is on trial for the June 7, 2016 crash in Cooper Township. Five people were killed, four others were injured.
Investigators say Pickett was under the influence of numerous prescription drugs when he plowed into the bicyclists as they rode single file on the shoulder of North Westnedge Avenue north of Kalamazoo.
Johnson’s injuries included a broken femur, a broken hip, broken ribs, broken vertebrae, a broken tailbone, broken teeth and numerous cuts. She also got poison ivy.
“I was confined to a wheelchair for about seven to eight weeks,’’ she testified. “I still have some limitations; range of motion, pain and discomfort.’’
Johnson was leading the group of riders when they were hit from behind. She recalls gaining consciousness next to a fence.
She had been talking with Paul Runnels, a fellow rider, prior to impact. He was also in the front of the group. His injuries included broken ribs, a broken leg and multiple fractures to his pelvis.
Rebuilding his shattered pelvis required doctors to outfit Runnels with a colostomy bag. “They had to separate my colon; fecal material exited through my abdominal wall,’’ he told jurors.
“I was still confined to a wheelchair when I went home,’’ Runnels testified. “It was challenging; I had very little strength, especially in my right side.’’
Paul Gobble, a member of the Chain Gang bicycling group, has no memory of the crash that left him with numerous broken bones and a traumatic brain injury.
Gobble said his next memory came at a rehabilitation hospital in Grand Rapids. It was nearly two weeks after the crash.
“I was wearing a leg brace, a back brace and a neck brace. It was Father’s Day; my family was there,’’ Gobble told the court. “I didn’t fully understand what was going on or why I was there, but I don’t recall being surprised that I was in the hospital.’’
Gobble said he spent most of the summer wearing braces. Eventually, depression and anxiety set in. After his 10-year-old daughter called him an “anger zombie,’’ Gobble decided to go on an anti-depressant.
Sheila Jeske, who organized the early evening ride, also spent several days in the hospital. She testified that she has no memory of the impact. Her injuries included several broken bones and broken teeth.
Jurors also heard from Kasie Fieberkorn, who was sitting outside her home on North Westnedge Avenue near Markin Glen Park when she saw the bike riders go by single-file. Within two minutes, she heard “this big crash.’’
“Metal on metal, like two cars colliding,’’ she told the jury. “It’s a noise you don’t forget.’’
Fieberkorn ran to the scene. “It’s a mess,’’ she testified. “There’s water bottles everywhere, there’s people’s shoes in the middle of the road. There’s bicycle parts in the road.’’
A heavily damaged blue Chevrolet pickup was beside the road with a man standing near the tailgate. Fieberkorn identified the man as Charles Pickett.
In addition to five counts of second-degree murder, Pickett, of Battle Creek, faces five counts of intoxicated driving causing death and four counts of operating while intoxicated causing serious injury.
The trial before Kalamazoo County Circuit Court Judge Paul J. Bridenstine is scheduled to resume Thursday.
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