Motorcyclists ride in Memorial Motorcycle Ride in Lackawanna County

L ACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Friends and family of a young man whose life was cut short remembered him Sunday the best way they knew how.

They held a Memorial Motorcycle Ride in Lackawanna County.

It was an emotional day for the loved ones of Alexander Petrovich as they honored his memory by doing something he enjoyed about as much as anybody.

More than 50 motorcycle riders gathered in Scranton, all for one purpose, to remember Alexander Petrovich. The 23-year-old Blakely man died last July in a motorcycle crash on I-81.

The event organizer and friend says it is hard to find the words to describe his gratitude for all who showed up.

“I’m grateful to be here and um to basically carry on his memory he was a good friend to us and he’s Jacob’s cousin like a brother to have a brother to me so I’m it’s a big part of the reason we’re here just to show support for him and um carry on his memory,” said organizer Jonathan Combs.

A relative of Petrovich says they were more than just cousins.

“He was just like a big brother to me. Anytime I ever needed him he would always be there. We got into this um into motorcycles together, we did everything together,” said organizer and Alexander Petrovich’s cousin Jacob Ropoch.

At 12:00 p.m., the group rode off to the Davis Street overpass near the Montage Mountain exit where Petrovich was killed when he collided with a tractor-trailer.

As they lit candles and looked over to the site of the crash scene, cars and trucks passed by, beeping their horns in support.

“Yeah Um this is a bigger turnout than we expected and um I’m very grateful that everyone is here and we’re just here to honor him,” said Ropoch.

“Last year we had an amazing turnout when we did his funeral ride we had about 100 motorcycles and it was just amazing to see everyone come out and once again today, I’m just blown away by the support that we have in this community. It’s really nice to see everyone and we’re all kind of one big family at the end of the day,” Combs explained.

Organizers say his memory will never be forgotten.

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