By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
A man blew himself up inside a truck at a western Pennsylvania home on Tuesday, injuring two other people - one of them critically - in what authorities say was a terrifying act of revenge. Investigators ruled the death of 40-year-old Brad Kollar a suicide resulting from blunt force trauma after the blast shortly before 9am. His body was discovered inside his truck that was parked outside a home near Patton, about 70 miles east of Pittsburgh. The corpse had bombs strapped to it. The home's owner is 44-year-old William Shaner, Kollar reportedly blamed for a recent arrest.
Sources told The Tribune-Democrat that Kollar developed the bomb to get revenge on Mr Shaner, whom he believed had 'snitched' on him and his father, John Kollar, 64, who were arrested last year on possession of a controlled substance and chop shop charges. The two were arrested on March 6, 2012, after authorities raided their home and found what they believed to be a meth lab. Kollar reportedly believed police had been tipped off by Mr Shaner.
Both the father and son were out on bail, but at the time of the blast, Brad Kollar was due in court for sentencing. He reportedly faced more than 10 years in jail and a fine of up to $100,000. Mr Shaner was inside the building at the time of the blast and was taken to Altoona Regional hospital and later flown to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he was listed in critical condition.
In an update posted to her Facebook page, Mr Shaner's wife Linda - who had been at work - said that her husband was still in bed and one of their sons was brushing his teeth at the time of the blast. The son, Ryan Shaner, had gotten out of the home and was helping his father out of the rubble when neighbors and drivers in the area rushed over to help. Ryan was treated for minor cuts and scrapes, while his father was hospitalized for a skull fracture, six fractured ribs, and two fractured vertebrae. He underwent surgery last night.
Linda Shaner posted: 'It's going to be long road but we will make it through, there is too many on our side!!!! I love you all & again THANK YOU from me & my family !!!!' The couple's other two children were not in the house, which was leveled by the force of the explosion. Debris was strewn about the street in the aftermath of the explosion - which has left the neighborhood in shock.
'I just think it's scary, this close to home,' Luke J. Lansberry, whose house faces the destroyed home, told The (Altoona) Mirror. 'There's a bunch of kids that live around here,' added Randy Slovikosky, who owns a nearby landscaping business. Police and other investigators originally believed a methamphetamine lab might have been to blame for the blast not far from Route 36.
Trooper John Matchik told reporters at the scene that investigators called the agency’s Hazardous Device and Explosive Squad from Harrisburg to sift through a large area of debris to determine what leveled the home down to its foundation. 'We are following up with information and conducting things very, very methodically,' he told the Mirror. 'We want to make sure we don’t overlook anything.' Mr Kollar was arrested, along with his father John Andrew Kollar, on March 6, 2012. Police found stolen vehicles, explosives and chemicals, believed to be the precursors to setting up a meth lab, on the family's property. The man's father was not available for comment after his son's suicide.
Bradley Kollar’s mental status had reportedly been a concern for authorities for some time. Court records show the DA’s office tried unsuccessfully to have Kollar's bail revoked after receiving reports that he was contemplating suicide and may have access to explosives, according to the Tribune-Democrat. Neighbors who lived near Kollar described him as a promising and bright man with a troubled past, according to WJACTV.com.
