Montgomery, Alabama police are investigating a fatal hit-and-run that claimed the life of actor Hosea Chanchez’s father earlier this month.
According to The Montgomery Advertiser, authorities say the incident happened around 4:57 a.m. on Saturday, October 18, on the 4400 block of Troy Highway.
At the scene, officers found 67-year-old Ephriam Bristow, who suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead. Police said the driver fled before they arrived, and no arrests have been made.
Per the local CBS affiliate, investigators are urging anyone with information to contact CrimeStoppers at 334-215-STOP, the Secret Witness Line at 334-625-4000, or the Montgomery Police Department at 334-625-2831. The investigation is ongoing.
Chancez, best known for his role on The Game, confirmed in a heartfelt Instagram post that Bristow was his father.
“The first person any boy wants to be is his father," he wrote. "No matter how ruff the road is you’re always willing to take the path to get to your father, as a boy. & as a boy your father is your hero. Even if he’s the real villain. Not all hero’s wear capes some wear Afros and leather boots, mine did.”
The actor described his father as someone beloved in their community. “He was the man everyone in our town loved and adored. He was the life of every party he attended,” he continued.
Chancez also addressed his father’s struggles with addiction, emphasizing that it never defined him: “What he wasn’t, was a drug addict, he became one, but HE wasn’t one. He was a man of GOD … Him ‘on drugs’ was just a reaction to a foreign entity being induced in his body. That guy wasn’t my dad.”
Detailing the moments of the crash, Chancez said, “Two nights ago my father was killed on Troy Highway in Alabama, and the murderer drug my father’s body a block & a half & then drove away like he was nothing. As my father was taking his last breath on the side of the road…He didn’t deserve that.”
Though Bristow’s past included legal troubles—including a 1997 federal case—Chancez stressed that he wanted his father remembered as a man of respect, faith, and love.
Mara Brock-Akil, creator of The Game, left a public comment under Chancez’s post: “Hosea. I am so deeply sorry to hear of your deep loss. Thank you for honoring him and giving his life perspective and a story… May he rest in peace.”