SAN ANTONIO- A young man whose father was killed while riding his bicycle doesn't want others to go through the same pain. Forty-four year old James Shepard died nearly two weeks ago just north of downtown when he was struck by an SUV at the corner of Treeline Park and Basse Road. The man's family now wants to help others in hopes that they never experience such a loss.
James had just left work at OrderUp Restaurant shortly before 10:30 at night, when he was hit just a bit up the road from where he worked. He was riding his bike home without a helmet, no reflectors, and he was not in a bike lane.
“It would be nice if everyone wore helmets, you know a lot of bicyclist do but I see people that don't, and where my dad's wound is on his head, I honestly feel that if he was wearing his helmet I feel this might have been a little different as well,” explained Kyle Goff-Shepard.
Kyle is heart broken over the loss of his father who died less than two weeks ago. He says his father James would normally take the bus home when he was leaving work at "order up" restaurant. It’s where both father and son worked. But, the night he died was different.
“He probably decided he didn't want to wait for the bus and just started riding his bike home”.
That’s when he was run over.
“He came off the curb just a little bit and got struck on the passenger fender in the front,” said Kyle, “And his bike kind of did a spin and he flipped over the SUV”.
And while the police concluded the death was accidental, Kyle feels it could have been avoided. Maybe if he had worn a helmet or had reflectors on his bike, but there were other contributing factors as well.
Kyle explained, “Right on Treeline Park the intersection where he got hit, there's a bike lane on Tree Line Park but there's not one on Basse”.
James' accidental death caught his family off guard both emotionally and financially. Days after the accident, James' family is working towards gathering enough money to move him from the medical examiner's office to a funeral home.
“Yeah, I just want him to be in peace already,” said Kyle.
Since both father and son worked at OrderUp, the restaurant is collecting funds to help with funeral expenses. A memorial fund has also been set up at Security Service Federal Credit Union in James Shepard’s name.
