Oklahoma City Restaurant Employees Thankful For Support After Offering Free Lunches In Exchange For Donated Bicycle Helmets

After offering a free lunch to anyone who brought in a bicycle helmet to give away, staff at an Oklahoma City restaurant say they were overwhelmed by the support they received from the community.

Friday, July 5th 2024, 6:42 am

By: Addie Crawford

OKLAHOMA CITY -

After a downtown Oklahoma City restaurant offered a free lunch to anyone who brought in a bicycle helmet, organizers behind the promotion provided an update on how much support they received.

Isabelle Young, one of the people behind the bicycle helmet drive at Vast, located in the Devon Energy Center, said they are driven by honoring the memory of their friend and former coworker.

In 2019, Chef Chad Epley was riding his bike around Northwest 16th Street and North Classen Boulevard when a black sedan knocked him off and dragged him for 10 blocks.

The driver responsible for hitting and killing Epley has still not been found.

Young said she was expecting around 50 helmets to come in, but was overwhelmed by the community’s support when they received 83 helmets.

"It's just very special to see who Chad has impacted," Young said. "I know he would love this. He would be donating all of the helmets he could find and bring them up here."

Young says Epley’s family and the person who received his organs also came in for lunch as well.

Because this helmet drive was so successful, Young said the staff at Vast want to continue honoring Chad’s legacy every year with a way to give back to the community.

Investigators are still looking for the driver who hit and killed Epley. If you have any information, you are asked to call Oklahoma City Police.