Lawsuit claims skidding motorcycle broke woman's leg at Homestead wrestling event

A woman who attended the Brawl Under the Bridge wrestling event last summer in Homestead is suing the promoter and two participants, alleging her leg was broken when motorcycles they drove as part of their entrance skidded into the crowd.

Stephanie Mirah, a former journalist at PublicSource, an online news organization in Pittsburgh, filed her complaint in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court on Monday against David Younkins Sr., a Munhall councilman who wrestles under the moniker “T-Rantula” and his son, David Younkins Jr.

Mirah is also suing Keystone State Wrestling Alliance and its producers: Shawn A. Belsterling, Robert Orkwis, Justin Smith and Louis Zygmuncik.

“This was not a freak accident, it was a preventable catastrophe,” the lawsuit claimed, calling it “A failure of event planning, risk assessment, and basic judgment.”

A message left with the wrestling alliance was not immediately returned. Younkins Jr. also did not return a message seeking comment.

His father said Tuesday he had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on it.

However, he said that as he and his son drove the motorcycles into the event that evening, they hit gravel.

“When you hit gravel, it’s like hitting black ice,” Younkins told TribLive. “It was a very awful experience for me. There were people that got hurt.”

Mirah’s complaint alleged that she was at the July 13 event as a journalist and recorded video of the motorcycles’ entrance, including when she was struck.

Mirah, who is from Pittsburgh, said she fractured her left tibia, the shinbone, which required surgery. She said she was unable to bear weight for an extended period of time.

According to the lawsuit, when it was time for Younkins Sr. to enter the area, he emerged from behind a row of three Porta-Johns, revved his engine and accelerated toward the crowd. But, realizing the danger, it continued, he laid his bike down, skidding into multiple spectators.

Then, Younkins Jr., who was behind, also swerved and immediately laid his bike down, skidding into Mirah, the complaint continued.

“Both motorcycles were in simultaneous motion, and the available footage suggests that Younkins Jr. swerved and ultimately lost control in an effort to avoid colliding with his father.”

The lawsuit accuses the producers of failing to provide adequate safety measures and said there were no barriers, ropes or crowd control measures. It includes claims for negligence and vehicular negligence.

While Brawl Under the Bridge, held under the Homestead Grays Bridge along 7th Street, was promoted as a professional wrestling event with theatrical performances, the lawsuit said, “In reality, it devolved into a poorly planned stunt show that placed spectacle over safety, culminating in preventable injuries to multiple spectators.”

The rest of the event was canceled after the incident, Younkins said, and he ultimately had to see a doctor because he was so upset by what happened.

“It was haunting me because I care about my fans so much,” he said.

Younkins said that he’d been wrestling for 35 years. Among his claims to fame, he said, he wrestled Dwayne Johnson, known professionally as The Rock, in 1998 and was the first wrestler to receive “The People’s Elbow,” which became The Rock’s signature move.

At age 62, Younkins said this is his last year wrestling.

Most of the shows he does, he said, are fundraisers and meant to help others.

“Unfortunately, this happened.”

The lawsuit noted Younkins’ role as a Munhall council member.

It said it did so “not to disparage him, but to highlight the profound recklessness of his conduct. As a public official entrusted with governance and community safety, he of all people should have exercised better judgment. Instead, he engaged in a stunt that disregarded basic public safety.”