This is just F'd up! My grandfather killed a motorcyclist :yikes:
Many years ago when I was a teenager I got a call from my grandfather...he cursed me out and said I shoved paper in his workshop pipes for his bandsaws and tools. I'm like WTF are you talking about...? I always knew he was weird and loosing his mind...he was always paranoid like a street light would go out and he would think someone shot it out like someone was always after him. He told weird stories all the time .....
We got back from vacation on a sunday afternoon and we got a message my grandfather died...I knew no details of his death and honestly I didn't really care either. My dad hadn't spoke to him in a year because of what he did to me...but my dad had to go to the funeral.
Last year something got brought up and my dad said...well you never knew how your grandfather died...I said no, he said well he killed himself. I still didn't ask any details.
Now the interesting part...
I was board off my @ss today at work..so I typed my name in the search bar of google. I saw my grandfathers name in there...I was like WTF is this..I clicked on it...read the report..and My mind was just blown away....he killed a motorcycleist a 17 year old kid at that!
Here's the report...
September 8, 1997
Pennsylvania Man Kills Dirt Biker Over Noise
Mike Bucsko
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that John Bereznak of Beaverdale, Pennsylvania on Saturday shot and killed a young dirt biker who was biking on the mounds of coal from an abandoned strip mine about 200 yards from Bereznak's house. Bereznak had complained about noise from the dirt bikers for several years, and once had thrown a shovel at a dirt biker while ranting about noise. He also was suspected by the town's dirt bikers of installing tar paper seeded with nails around the abandoned mine area. Bereznak later killed himself.
The article reports that the shooting occurred at the old No. 4 Logan Co. Mine, which has been abandoned for about 40 years and is now owned by Cooney Brothers Inc. The company owns thousands of acres of mines in the area. For about five years, the article says, dirt bikers have used the irregular mounds of coal at the mine for dirt bike tracks and jumps.
According to the article, Bereznak was a 70-year-old retired miner. On Saturday shortly after 4 p.m., Bereznak took his .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol from his Jefferson Avenue home to confront the dirt bikers. There were seven teen-agers at the abandoned mine, the article says, six of whom later told police that Bereznak watched the bikers silently for a few minutes before walking towards them. Robert Custer, age 17, was sitting on his dirt bike about to ride up a mound of coal the teens call "KTM" after the make of the first dirt bike that made it to the top, the article reports. Bereznak stopped about eight feet from Custer, pulled out his gun from behind his shirt, and fired at Custer's chest. After the teen fell, Bereznak fired two more shots at the biker. He then returned to his home and shot himself.
The article reports that people in this village of 1,000 residents still were numb yesterday from the violence of the previous day. Custer's family and two teens who witnessed the shooting would not comment, the article says.
According to Paul Bonfanti, police chief in Summerhill, which includes Beaverdale, "I guess he [Bereznak] just flipped." Bonfanti said that Bereznak and a few other residents who lived near the mine had complained occasionally about the noise from the bikes. A few years ago, after receiving several complaints, a police officer cited a dirt biker for disorderly conduct, but the citation was tossed out by a district justice when the residents who had complained refused to testify. Subsequently, the teen's parents sued the township and won. Since then there haven't been any more citations issued, Bonfanti said, and police tend to ignore the dirt bikers.
original here = its about ½ way down the page.
http://www.nonoise.org/news/1997/sep7.htm#Pennsylvania Man Kills Dirt Biker Over Noise
