Pickup truck driver rams cyclists in Arizona road race, critically injuring 6

A wheel remains wedged into the grille of a truck that ran into a group of cyclist participating in a race in the town of Show Low, Arizona. Photo / The White Mountain Independent / AP

A driver in a pickup truck ploughed into cyclists during a community road race in Arizona on Saturday, critically injuring several riders before police chased the driver and shot him outside a nearby hardware store, authorities said.

Six people were taken to a hospital in critical condition after the crash in the mountain town of Show Low, about a three-hour drive northeast of Phoenix, police said. Helmets, shoes and crumpled and broken bicycles were strewn across the street after the crash, and a tyre was wedged into the grill of the truck, which had damage to its top and sides and a bullet hole in a window.

The sene of the crash after the driver of a pickup truck ploughed into cyclists. Photo / AP

Two other people went to a hospital themselves, city spokeswoman Grace Payne said, and one of the severely injured was later flown by medical helicopter to a Phoenix-area hospital.

The suspect, a 35-year-old man, also was hospitalised in critical but stable condition.

"We don't know the motivation," Payne told The Associated Press. "We know he fled the scene."

A damaged pickup truck which ran over a group of cyclists in Show Low, Arizona. Photo / AP

Police said a Ford pickup truck struck the cyclists about 7.25am in downtown Show Low during the annual 93km Bike the Bluff race, then fled. Officers pursued the driver and tried to stop him before he was shot, authorities said.

Payne said the driver did not comply when officers tried to arrest him, but the circumstances of the shooting were not immediately released. Neither were the identities of the suspect and victims.

Thank you to all first responders who supported during this shocking incident. Also, thank you to all citizens who have...

Posted by Show Low Police Department on Saturday, June 19, 2021

Officials said the race had 270 participants.

"Our community is shocked at this incident and our hearts and prayers are with the injured and their families at this time," police spokeswoman Kristine Sleighter said in a statement.

The Navajo County sheriff's office and Arizona Department of Public Safety is helping to investigate. US route 60, the main street in the town tucked in the White Mountains, is closed in the area.