Bicyclists bonded as 'Chain Gang' before crash that killed 5

(AP) — They called themselves "The Chain Gang" — a group of bicyclists drawn together by zest for their sport, physical fitness and love of the outdoors whose day trip in the southwestern Michigan countryside ended tragically as a pickup truck plowed into them, killing five and injuring four others.

Stunned biking enthusiasts joined relatives and friends of the riders Wednesday in mourning them, leaving flowers, a commemorative "ghost bike" and a small wooden cross at the crash scene and gathering by the hundreds for a 5-mile "silent ride."

Police said they had received complaints about a pickup being driven erratically and were searching for it minutes before the crash around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday on a two-lane road in Kalamazoo County's Cooper Township.

County prosecutor Jeffrey S. Getting said he expected a report Thursday from the sheriff's department and other agencies that would help determine whether charges would be filed.

Sister Pam Owens, pastoral associate at Saint Thomas More Catholic Student Parish, said Nelson and Paulik were congregation members who were in "great shape" and had a well-known passion for cycling.

After her family, Suzanne's passion was clearly bike riding," Gross said in an email to The Associated Press, adding that Sippel often biked to work "and on more than one occasion I saw her heading out in rain and sleet to get home.

A neighbor, Marc Laning, applied white paint to the "ghost bike" and attached it to the cross with a bungee cord, a gesture of respect to bicyclists killed by motor vehicles.