Fort Worth family raising money to pay funeral costs for chef killed in Austin hit-and-run

A Fort Worth family has fundraised almost $20,000 to cover the funeral expenses of Cody Shelton, a budding chef killed in a hit-and-run crash in Austin on March 12.

A vehicle struck Shelton in the early hours of the morning as he walked through Austin’s downtown. The 26-year-old Fort Worth native had moved to the state capital to kickstart his cooking career.

“Unfortunately, our family was not expecting such a tragedy and could use help to bring Cody home to Fort Worth and to give him a proper burial,” Angel Scallion, Shelton’s aunt, wrote in the GoFundMe’s description. “Cody had so much life to live and it was cut short due to someone’s negligence. He was loved by so many and will be greatly missed.”

Shelton graduated from Castleberry High School in 2016. He traded his pencils and football pads for an apron when he enrolled in the Austin’s Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts.

“He had a passion for food and he went after it,” Scallion told the Star-Telegram. “He loved cooking; he liked the way it made people happy.”

Over the following eight years, Shelton honed his skills in kitchens across the city. He worked the grills at Whataburger and Dairy Queen. He hustled as a line cook in pizzerias and a Japanese restaurant.

He ventured into private cheffing in 2020. He boasted a range of skills and services, from intricate desserts to customized dinners. By last February, he’d landed a gig at well-regarded Austin restaurant Arlo Grey. “Truly honored to be able to work with such talented chefs,” he wrote in a Feb. 16 Instagram post. “I love the team I was blessed with.”

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Shelton’s upwards climb was cut short less than a month later.

Austin police pronounced him dead at the site of the crash; Shelton’s friend, also hit, was rushed to a hospital.

Officials arrested 23-year-old Tyrone Thompson in connection with the crash the following day. Thompson faces several charges, according to police records, including resisting arrest, search or transport, unlawful carrying of a weapon, an accident involving death and driving while intoxicated.

“It’s hard to put my head around how something like this could happen to a kid that had everything going for him,” Scallion reflected in between sniffles.

Costly funerary expenses have saddled mourning’s emotional burdens with financial ones.

“We all live paycheck to paycheck around here,” Scallion explained. Shelton, being so young, didn’t have life insurance, she added.

The GoFundMe campaign has eased some of the stress. Shelton’s family has received just over $19,000 in donations as of 8:15 p.m. Monday.

Shelton’s mother traveled to Austin earlier in the day to retrieve her son’s belongings and sign his release papers. Scallion says the family hopes to hold a memorial service in Fort Worth March 26—if they can reach their $25,000 fundraising goal by March 24.

“I want people to know that he’s not just a victim—he was our nephew; he was a son, a brother, a grandson,” Scallion said. “He meant a lot to a lot of different people.”