One bicyclist killed, one injured in Chapel Hill hit-and-run

A Pittsboro police officer driving southbound on the highway near the Southern Village at Market Street shopping center discovered the bicyclists and their bikes in the middle of the road at about 11:30 p.m.

According to investigators, Ivin Levander Scurlock, 41, of Carrboro, and Alexandria Nicole Simou, 40, of Chapel Hill, were riding together when they were hit. Scurlock was killed, and Simou was taken to UNC Hospitals. She was in the intensive care unit Friday morning.

Authorities said Scurlock was not wearing a helmet but that he was wearing a reflective vest and had reflective devices on his bike. 

A former boyfriend of Simou said she and Scurlock were in a relationship and had been homeless for a long time.

"They'd been homeless for the whole past three years, mainly living in the duplexes down there across from Southern Village, going from one duplex to the next," Dirck Martin said Friday.

Martin said Scurlock and Simou depended on their bikes to get around and survived the best they could out on the streets.

"Ivin was really good at fixing bikes," he said, calling Scurlock "a nice guy."

Troopers haven't yet determined the type of vehicle involved, but they said they believe it may have been a sedan based on the damage to the bikes. They are searching for a car with damage to its front end and windshield.

The state Department of Transportation said no other crashes involving pedestrians or bicyclists have been reported along that stretch of U.S. 15/501 in at least 10 years.

"It's just tragic," Martin said of the hit-and-run.

Southbound U.S. 15/501 was closed for several hours overnight while officials investigated the scene. It reopened early Friday.

Anyone with information about the hit-and-run is asked to call the Hillsborough Highway Patrol office at 919-732-2551 or the Raleigh Highway Patrol Communication Center at 919-733-3861.