KEALIA — Six gravesites at St. Catherine’s Cemetery were damaged early Saturday morning when a northbound vehicle crossed the centerline and launched over a stone wall, county officials announced yesterday. Tire marks on the dirt inside the street-side walking entrance
KEALIA — Six gravesites at St. Catherine’s Cemetery were damaged early Saturday morning when a northbound vehicle crossed the centerline and launched over a stone wall, county officials announced yesterday.
Tire marks on the dirt inside the street-side walking entrance end near a larger cement gravestone, which was nearly demolished, exposing twisted metal pieces of rebar. Pieces of freshly cracked statues had been thrown more than 25 feet by the vehicle’s impact.
County spokeswoman Mary Daubert said yesterday that police notified church officials about the incident.
Volunteers reached at St. Catherine’s were unable to confirm if families of those whose graves had been damaged had yet been notified.
According to a preliminary report, Dorotes Lagunes, 36, of Wailua, was traveling alone in a Nissan Sentra on Kuhi‘o Highway at around 4:45 a.m. when he fell asleep behind the wheel and crashed.
Lagunes was not injured in the accident, but was cited for driving without a license. Police believe that alcohol and drugs were not factors in this crash, the statement said.
Daubert confirmed that the car was towed from the scene shortly after the accident.
