Police seek hit-and-run driver who killed e-bike rider in South Jersey

Police were seeking the public’s help in locating the driver of a white SUV that fatally struck a 49-year-old man riding an e-bike early Monday in Burlington County and then fled the scene.

Just before 12:15 a.m. Monday, Mount Laurel Township police were dispatched to the 1100 block of Route 73 southbound to respond to a crash involving an e-bike and an unknown vehicle.

Police said they located Anthony Caprio III, who was pronounced dead.

The striking vehicle fled the scene.

Sgt. Kyle Gardner on Tuesday said the e-bike was equipped with lights, which were on at the time of the crash. The vehicle dragged Caprio at least a quarter-mile and then continued south on Route 73 into Evesham Township, Gardner said.

Michele Caprio, 71, Anthony’s mother, said he had taken his e-bike to a Wawa on Sunday night from his mother’s house in Mount Laurel. At some point, he called his mother to say he had trouble with the bike, but had fixed the problem, she said.

Then around 3 a.m. Monday, two police officers came to her house to inform her of the crash and his death, she said.

His mother said he was very skilled at fixing anything mechanical. He briefly was employed at SEPTA, which he highlighted in several photos on his Facebook account. “He loved trains and worked for SEPTA fixing trains,” she said.

He had a love for aircraft that developed when he was a kid because his father had a plane and took him flying, his mother said.

His 50th birthday was coming on Jan. 4, she said.

She also said he had struggled for many years with mental illness and alcohol abuse. He recently found himself homeless and moved back in with his mother, she said.

The Mount Laurel Police Department released images from surveillance video of the white SUV and asked anyone with information to call the department at 856-234-8300 or the confidential tip line at 856-234-1414 ext. 1599.