Shootings revive grim memories of Chevy's

MOUNTAIN GREEN — Oh yes, says Loydene Berg, this past week's events certainly bring back memories.

Not that thoughts of her husband or details of the horrible night he died are ever too far from her mind.

Nearly seven years ago, Quinn Robert Martinez was high on meth and looking for trouble when he walked into Chevy's Restaurant in Midvale and opened fire on employees. He killed the restaurant manager in front of patrons who'd gathered for a night out, then ran outside to steal a car from the parking lot. There he confronted 43-year-old Peter Berg and gunned down the father of two in front of his 12-year-old daughter.

The killing remains one of the most high-profile public shootings in recent memory — and the Berg family is still recovering.

After a young man killed five shoppers at Salt Lake City's Trolley Square on Monday, Berg fielded calls from friends concerned about her well-being.

"To be honest, we all feel kind of sick, Berg told the Deseret Morning News. "It's been an emotional day for all of us."

She has spent much of the week thinking about the victims and their families. She can empathize.

"It is astounding how, in a few seconds, your whole life is changed," she said.

"I mean, my life hasn't really changed. I live in the same house. I have the same children," she said. "But the world looks totally different, and it feels different, and I am thinking about all that for those people. It is overwhelming."

She stayed close to home early in the week, hanging out with her son P.J., her daughter-in-law and baby grandson.

P.J. was the birthday boy that day nearly seven years ago. The family was celebrating his 17th birthday at Chevy's Fresh Mex. Now that day is forever marked also as the anniversary of his dad's death.

"My mind is so much with what people are dealing with today," Loydene Berg said. "So many people affected directly. So many people affected indirectly. It just doesn't go away. Here I am talking about it six years later."

"I hear people say, 'It's unbelievable,"' Berg said. "I see this has happened, and it's not unbelievable. It's very believable."

Quinn Robert Martinez is the young man in prison for killing Peter Berg and Chevy's manager Jason Rasmussen. He also critically wounded three others April 27, 2000.