UNIONTOWN, Pa. – The 1st Officer Zane Breakiron Memorial Ride has been set for this summer by Carmichaels Riders, according to Zane’s father, Garret Breakiron.

Breakiron, a Morgantown Police Department K-9 officer, died in an off-duty vehicle crash in the early morning hours of June 3 last year near the Pennsylvania state line, three days before he would have celebrated his seventh year of service.

“June 29, 2024, we’re going to start in Carmichaels, and it’s 100 miles,” Breakiron said. “We’re going to go through parts of Pennsylvania, through Morgantown, and then back through Pennsylvania to Carmichaels.”

Member of the Carmichaels Riders and friend of the Breakiron family, Sean Anker grew up in Pennsylvania near Farmington and Fort Necessity and didn’t have many friends until he met the Breakiron’s at a very young age. Sean’s father was friends with Garret; the friendship between Zane and his brother Zack developed during those visits, and it is a lifelong bond.

“I’m just enjoying life, and I don’t think anybody did that better than Zane,” Anker said. “He enjoyed life, always treated people with love and respect, and he took his Christian faith seriously too.”

Zane asked his dad to go look at motorcycles, which Garret discouraged because of the idea-based injuries he saw during his time as a chiropractor. The two went to Irwin to look, and no purchase was made, but when the pair went to Morgantown days later, they each ended up purchasing a motorcycle.

“The only reason I bought one was so I could ride with him,” Breakiron said. “At that time, I was 67 years old, and I surely didn’t need to get on a motorcycle, but I did.”

Garret said the outreach since June 2023 has been a reflection of the standing-room-only service held at the Abundant Life Church in Uniontown. Countless people, including his law enforcement family, said Zane was compassionate, willing to help and always smiling. His passing has been very difficult for the Abundant Life Church, where he was active for at least two decades.

“It’s tough to hear it all the time, but there’s a saying that I try to tell people,” Breakiron said. “How can I be mad at God for taking Zane when he took his own son at 33 and I had 34 years with Zane?” Breakiron said.

Registration begins at the Carmichaels American Legion at 9 a.m., and riders will leave at 11:30 a.m. sharp. The route will go south to Morgantown, where the police department will provide an escort to the north to the Jumonville Cross for a short memorial service. From there, riders will go to Hopwood, Washington, and back to Uniontown for food, drinks, and entertainment.

Register early for $35 and $15 for passengers. On the day of the event, registration is $40 for riders and $15 for passengers.