CARMICHAELS, Pa. — A motorcycle ride in memory of a former Morgantown Police officer is scheduled for Saturday.
The first annual Officer Zane Breakiron Memorial Ride, presented by Carmichaels Riders and Zane’s parents, Garret and Mindy, will take place.
Breakiron died in an off-duty vehicle crash June 3, 2023, near the Pennsylvania state line, three days before he would have celebrated his seventh year of service.
Registration for the ride begins at 9 a.m. at the Carmichaels American Legion. Riders will leave at 11:30 a.m. and head south to Morgantown, where the police department will provide an escort back to the state line via Pa. 43 to a planned stop at Braddocks Inn. The ride will then go to the Uniontown Mall, where there will be a short ceremony before going to Washington County and back to the American Legion in Carmichaels around 5 p.m. for dinner, drinks and music.
Garret Breakiron said more than 4,000 people attended the visitation or funeral for his son last year, and he estimated he knew about 40% of the people who filed through Abundant Life Church in Uniontown. Breakiron was active in the church for nearly two decades.
“We heard so many great comments from so many people, and we didn’t even know who they were, and so many stories from the Morgantown Police Department,” Breakiron said.
Breakiron said today’s ride will stop at the Uniontown Mall, where Pastor Mark Scott and Pastor Eric Johnson are going to give a brief talk and let anybody else who wants to say something about Zane.
Zane’s mother Mindy said non-riders are welcome to attend the ceremony at the mall or the post-ride celebration at the Carmichael American Legion.
“Anyone not riding can join us at the Uniontown Mall and then at Carmichaels American Legion, and I think it’s a $10 ticket to have dinner with everyone else,” she said.
Breakiron said about $36,000 in memorials were collected for the West Virginia Law Enforcement Police K-9 Fund during the funeral and after, and they hope to make a similar donation following this event.
“The amount of people who came out and supported that is just amazing, and these dogs they get are exceptional, and they really help them do their job safely,” she said.
The ride is being organized by Carmichaels Riders and is strictly an alcohol-free event — no exceptions.
Garret Breakiron remembered his son as a Christian man who valued family and loved people. He said his son’s death has given him many opportunities to witness for Jesus Christ.
