Police continue search for hit and run driver in March auto-bike accident

Death of popular chef occurred at N.W. 16th and Classen

Police still don’t know who the car driver was who hit and killed Oklahoma City chef and bike commuter Chad Epley March 21.

But, someone knows.

Epley, a regular bike commuter, was on his way home around 2:40 a.m. when a car traveling southbound on Classen hit him in the intersection of N.W. 16th and Classen according to police reports.

Oklahoma City Police investigators obtained nearby surveillance video of the car they believe hit Epley speeding south after the incident and released it to the press and news media shortly after the incident.

The video shows sparks showering from underneath the car as the driver leaves the intersection at 16th and Classen and then another video from 12th and Classen. Police believe the sparks are from Epley’s bike that lodged under the car.

Epley’s bike was later found ten blocks south of that intersection on Western.

“Sometimes it’s just a matter of someone trading that information for leniency on another charge,” OKCPD Captain Bo Mathews, Public Information Officer, told Free Press. “Someone out there knows who did it, but they haven’t come forward yet.”

If you have information or someone you know has information about the incident call Crime Stoppers at 405-235-7300.

Shock

The deadly accident between an auto and cyclist shocked and saddened many in the core of the city who knew Epley.

Earlier in the year he had been named Co-Executive Chef for Vast, a restaurant at the top of Devon Tower downtown.

Very soon after the incident a bike was painted white and chained to a traffic light pole at the intersection as a memorial to Epley.

Now, months later, fresh flowers still appear on the bike revealing the grief of his friends and others who didn’t know him but knew of his tragic sudden death.

Bike commuter

Epley regularly used his bike for commuting to and from the downtown restaurant where he was a chef.

Since the incident, a wider circle of people in the city have been made more aware of just how many people who work in the service industry use their bikes not just for pleasure, but as a necessary tool for commuting to work.

Cars are just too expensive for those who work late in the evenings in various service jobs say some who do that work.

Awareness

Planned events in May increased awareness of the necessity of bike/walking/transit commuting in the metro and the need for a safer infrastructure to protect those commuters.

The events were designed to show how infrastructure should not be designed solely for auto travel, but for multiple modes of travel.

Free Press covered each of the events:

Now, the same organizers are speaking up as MAPS 4 ideas are being considered in a series of public hearings about various ideas.


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Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.