INDIANAPOLIS — Employees of Bicycle Garage Indy are grieving the loss of a friend and coworker. An SUV hit and killed Frank Radaker Thursday morning while he was biking to work.
"He loved to learn, but he also loved to share," said Scott Helvie. "We're going to get daily reminders of Frank's impact."
It might seem like another day at Bicycle Garage Indy.
"People are going to call and walk in and say, 'Hey, had a fit done with Frank. I wanted to ask something,'" Helvie said.
Helvie will have to tell customers the tragic news.
"One of the staff members came up to me yesterday and said, 'Hey a cyclist got hit this morning,'" Helvie said.
Helvie never suspected it was Radaker, his mechanic and bike fitter.
"A few guys had asked, 'Hey, has anybody seen Frank yet this morning?'" Helvie said.
He put it together when Radaker, who was always on time, didn't show up to work.
"I said, 'That's Frank's bike,'" Helvie said. "Then, all the emotions hit."
Helvie and a coworker raced to 86th Street Thursday morning. The hospital called to confirm the cyclist that an SUV hit and killed was their friend.
"He was a big advocate of doing things the right way, in a safe way," Helvie said.
IMPD searched the SUV that struck Radaker Friday morning, but the speed during the time of the crash wasn't available in its black box. Detectives are trying to find witnesses and video to learn how fast the driver was going.
"The amount of experience and trust, and I think that's part of what makes this even harder is, I don't think we've seen a report that says who's at fault here. I know which side I'm on. I'm pretty confident he was not in the wrong. He had no reason to take a risk," Helvie said.
Around a million people use the Monon Trail each year. Radaker's death is calling attention to safety concerns at busy intersections and why the city isn't building more pedestrian bridges like the one installed last year next to the state fairgrounds that stretches over 38th Street.
"It's unavoidable to have those intersections between pedestrian traffic and car traffic, and we have to look at the ones that are the heaviest and make decisions on how to make them better," Helvie said. "Something's got to happen up here or more accidents will happen. There's no way to avoid it."