According to a CBS affiliate KPIX in San Francisco, a DUI driver crashed their vehicle into a cemetery in Hollister, damaging more than a dozen gravestones.
Police in Hollister said that the incident happened last week when a driver allegedly under the influence of alcohol or drugs lost control of their vehicle and crashed into the Calvary Cemetery in San Benito County. The car rolled over, desecrating a number of graves before landing on its roof.
Officers responding to the call gave the driver a Breathalyzer test. The test showed that the driver had a blood-alcohol level of 0.18 percent – more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent. The suspect was arrested at the scene and will likely be paying restitution to restore the gravestones and monuments.
Some of the grave markers damaged in the incident were considered historical in nature. Several wooden crosses placed on the graves of infants who died that date back to the early 1900s are likely irreplaceable.
The Hollister Police Department posted news of the incident on their Facebook page. That post resulted in more than 480 comments from area residents who were upset about the news. One commenter said that the overturned vehicle was directly on top of her daughter’s grave.
“There is no humor here. Only irony,” a spokesperson wrote in the police department’s press release. “Because, if people don’t get the message, they will end up in the cemetery or, worse yet, put someone else there. Impaired driving kills.”
