Pennsylvania Man Kills Dirt Biker Over Noise
PUBLICATION: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
DATE: September 8, 1997
SECTION: State, Pg. A-11
BYLINE: Mike Bucsko
DATELINE: Beaverdale, Pennsylvania
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.