Published: September 08, 2006 4:00 am

Bike Kills Bradley Native

Roger Lynn "Tater" Shepard, Jr. was the son of Roger Lynn Shepard and JoAnn Slay of Lindsay. Tater grew up in Bradley, but he moved with his parents (JoAnn and Robert McCann) to Texas in the winter of 1998. He was killed near Mathis, Texas September 4 in a dirt bike accident at 1:00am Monday morning and was found 3:00am Tuesday morning. A deer ran out in front of him. Tater swerved to miss the deer and applied the front brake, launching the bike forward. The bike's rear tire flipped upward and broke his neck. The bike flipped again, breaking his back then ran into a tree. The family reportedly searched within five feet of his body and did not see him. JoAnn stated during a phone conversation Thursday evening that he was not recognizable when his body was recovered. The family plans to have Tater cremated. They will hold a memorial service in Texas and another in Bradley at a later time for his family here. The family also reported that Tater was "saved" in church Sunday morning, the day before the fatal crash.