KALKASKA -- Bicyclist Carl John Ray died nearly four months ago when a truck struck him from behind as he peddled along Rapid City Road in Kalkaska County.
The driver who hit him now faces criminal charges for the collision. Area cyclists will be glad to hear it, said Fred Schaafsma, member of the Cherry Capital Cycling Club.
"It won't bring Carl Ray back, but it's good to hear they're proceeding," Schaafsma said. "The thing that is upsetting for us is that the cyclist is often blamed with the fault."
Kalkaska County Prosecutor Brian Donnelly charged the driver, whom he wouldn't identify pending an arraignment, with operating under the influence causing death and negligent homicide. The driver, 50, is expected to be arrested and arraigned shortly.
"We'll be making efforts to get him in here as soon as we can," Donnelly said.
Donnelly waited for several months for the results of blood tests sent to the Michigan State Police crime lab. Those results allegedly showed the driver, of Rapid City, was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the incident.
Donnelly said he consulted with a state police toxicologist, and they believe the level of the drug in the suspect's bloodstream affected his driving.
"His statement essentially was, I looked down, and when I looked up, I was so close to him I didn't have time to veer or stop," Donnelly said. "Why didn't you see this guy well down the road? Did you look down for hundreds of yards?"
The local cycling community responded to the death of Ray, 62, with a Sept. 5 memorial ride on Leelanau Trail. Meanwhile, they collectively wondered why it took so long for the investigation to be completed, Schaafsma said.
Donnelly said the state police lab is extremely backlogged, so blood results don't always come quickly.
A sense of justice will come with the pending criminal charges, Schaafsma said.
"There will be some degree of justice, not necessarily closure, but a sense of justice," he said. "Finally. That's the way most people feel. Finally."
Ray worked for the U.S. Postal Service as a rural route mail carrier in Fife Lake. He also spent spare time as a photographer, bicyclist, private pilot, sailor and taught wood carving for 4-H, according to obituary information.
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