Motul Petit Le Mans races to honor life of slain Buckhead valet attendant

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Published  October 14, 2023 11:48pm EDT
FOX 5 Atlanta
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Harrison Olvey honored at Motul Petit Le Mans

A man moved by the death of a Buckhead valet worker last month wanted to give back and honor his life. Because of the kind stranger, 21 race cars at the Motul Petit Le Mans race in Braselton Saturday featured a new sticker in memory of Harrison Olvey.

BRASELTON, Ga. - A man moved by the death of a Buckhead valet attendant last month wanted to give back and honor his life. There were 21 race cars at the Motul Petit Le Mans race in Braselton Saturday sporting a new sticker in memory of Harrison Olvey.

"I'm so honored and so grateful it's unbelievable," Olvey's mother, Autumn Ernst, said.

"He loves racing anyway, so now he can go really fast and get away with it," she said. "I know he's here with us today."

Valet attendant killed in Lindbergh area identified by medical examiner

A valet attendant was shot and killed overnight after he interrupted a crime in progress, according to Atlanta Police Department.

Ernst said the stickers are all thanks to a man she never knew before her son's death.

"I'm beyond touched with how many people, how many good people there are still left in this world, unlike the person that took my son's life," she explained.

Harrison Olvey (Photo submitted by family)
Harrison Olvey (Photo submitted by family)
Harrison Olvey (Photo submitted by family)

Atlanta police say the 25-year-old was shot and killed on Sept. 3 when he tried to stop three men from breaking into a car at a nightclub lot on Piedmont Road where he was working as a valet.

His suspected killer, Randy King, was arrested Wednesday and faces a murder charge.

Racing manager Mitchell Simmons was so touched by Olvey's story he wanted to do something to honor him and came up with the idea for the stickers. He never met Olvey but connected with his family over the last few weeks.

"They sent me some photos of him even when he was a baby. I was [in] Indianapolis, and I was walking to Pit Lane crying," Simmons said.

"It was just something that needed to be done I thought it was something that I could kind of give back and this was the only way I could really do it," he added.

Harrison Olvey, the Buckhead valet worker who was murdered on the job, was honored at the Motul Petit Le Mans race Saturday.
Harrison Olvey, the Buckhead valet worker who was murdered on the job, was honored at the Motul Petit Le Mans race Saturday.
Harrison Olvey, the Buckhead valet worker who was murdered on the job, was honored at the Motul Petit Le Mans race Saturday.
Harrison Olvey, the Buckhead valet worker who was murdered on the job, was honored at the Motul Petit Le Mans race Saturday.
Mitchell Simmons, the racing manager at Motul Petit Le Mans, asked Olvey's mother if he could honor her son with stickers on the race cars Saturday. She was thrilled.
Harrison Olvey, the Buckhead valet worker who was murdered on the job, was honored at the Motul Petit Le Mans race Saturday.
Harrison Olvey, the Buckhead valet worker who was murdered on the job, was honored at the Motul Petit Le Mans race Saturday.
Harrison Olvey, the Buckhead valet worker who was murdered on the job, was honored at the Motul Petit Le Mans race Saturday.
Mitchell Simmons, the racing manager at Motul Petit Le Mans, asked Olvey's mother if he could honor her son with stickers on the race cars Saturday. She was thrilled.

Ernst said the stickers serve as a reminder of her son's legacy she hopes will never be forgotten.

"I mean he was an amazing human being and that just shows you how many people's lives he touched and how beautiful of a person he is," she said. "I don't want to say ‘was’ because he ‘is.'"