A 19-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated after his pickup truck crashed through a stone wall and struck several grave markers at Greenwood Cemetery in Sauk Centre, Minnesota.
The incident was reported at about 2.56am on Saturday, 26 September, when emergency dispatchers received a call about an unoccupied truck inside the cemetery.
Authorities also received a 911 call that disconnected at around the same time. When dispatchers called back, a man answered and said there was no problem, according to officials.
Sauk Centre cemetery crash investigation
Sauk Centre police later found the 19-year-old from Long Prairie northeast of the crash site, near 390th Avenue in Sauk Centre Township.
Investigators said the mobile phone in his possession had made the 911 call. They also established that he owned the 2012 Chevrolet Silverado found at the cemetery.
Police believe the truck had been travelling east along County Road 17 when it failed to stop at a T-junction. It then went through the cemetery’s stone wall, hit numerous grave markers and came to a halt inside the grounds.
The man was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and taken to Sauk Centre Hospital for medical assessment and treatment for injuries sustained in the crash.
He was subsequently transported to Stearns County Jail, where he was booked and held in connection with third-degree DWI allegations. The investigation remains ongoing and the allegations have not been tested in court.
A representative of Greenwood Cemetery estimated that the damage to the wall and grave markers was about $50,000.
