Pa. Demolition Company Owner Crushed by Steeple

Sept. 09--SWOYERSVILLE -- The owner of the Luzerne-based demolition firm that took down the Hotel Sterling was killed Monday morning when a church steeple collapsed onto an excavator he was operating.

John Brdaric, owner of Brdaric Excavating Inc. on Miller Street in Luzerne, died of multiple traumatic injuries caused by an industrial accident, acting Luzerne County Coroner Bill Lisman said. No autopsy was planned.

The business was demolishing Holy Name/St. Mary's Church on Shoemaker Street about 11:30 a.m. when a section of the building toppled onto an excavator, according to witnesses.

Phil Bosha, who was one of the many who helped get Brdaric on to a gurney and carry him out, said Brdaric was breathing when he was taken to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township, but that his injuries were serious.

The Rev. Joseph Pisaneschi performed last rites over Brdaric while he was carried to the ambulance on a stretcher, Bosha said.

Swoyersville police Chief Dave Latoski said the accident was widely witnessed and that members of the police, fire and street departments had been on the scene at the time.

Glen Galion, the asbestos abatement officer for the job, said demolition had just started Monday morning and the back of the building had already been taken out when the accident took place.

Brdaric had been stacking wood so the vehicle could reach higher and was hitting the section of building which stood about 35 or 40 feet, he said.

"Finally, he hit it and the thing crumbled. The whole thing just came right down on him," Galion said.

Phyllis Stanishefski said she was in the neighborhood letting out her sister's dog when she saw the accident unfold. The operator was working on taking down some beams that were holding up the steeple, she said.

"I was looking up. I said, 'Oh my God, that whole steeple's shaking,'" Stanishefski said. "You could see it swaying. All of a sudden, he just hit it, and the whole thing came forward on him, and there was this giant, giant flume of red dust so thick you couldn't even see anything at all. Then all his crew members start racing over there."

She said the excavator was covered in debris and the crews first tried to lift a beam off with another excavator, but the chain snapped.

Latoski said the crew ended up having to cut Brdaric from the rubble before he was transported to the hospital.

"There was a beam on top of him because when the thing came down it was on his chest and head, and stuff like that, so they had to cut him out," Latoski said. "It's hard because everybody knows every worker that's here working on this because it's a local company."

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration was heading to the scene to investigate what appeared to be an industrial accident, Latoski said.

Members of Brdaric's crew declined to comment.

Shoemaker Street is closed near the accident site and traffic is being diverted.

Bosha, who stood near the scene wearing a neon yellow shirt and a hard hat, thick arms folded across his chest, watched the scene with a grave look.

"It's sad enough that the church was coming down," Bosha said. "This just makes it a truly sad day in Swoyersville."

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