In these times when life has all but ceased in most of the country and we're all getting a little stir-crazy in lockdown, it's nice to know that some things are still normal as ever—like people doing weird, messy stuff in public while everyone around them shakes their heads in dismay.
That was the scene on Mother's Day at Houston National Cemetery as a woman decided to just drive her SUV over a bunch of graves to avoid traffic. The incident happened during a large gathering to watch a military flyover of the cemetery in honor of the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
As a national cemetery, the site is the final resting place of many military veterans and their families.
A woman in a red SUV decided she couldn't be bothered with the ensuing traffic delays—so she just made her own alternate route and ran over a bunch of graves while others, including Jeremiah Johnston who videoed the incident, looked on in shock.
You can see footage here.
Woman seen driving over headstones at Houston National Cemeterywww.youtube.com
As Amanda Hill, one of the witnesses, told Houston's ABC affiliate KTRK:
"She tried to back up, and then went up on the curb of the section where my grandparents are buried. [The woman] couldn't get around some cars, and then she started running over the graves... She went over dozens of graves by the time she finished."
Johnston, who videoed the incident, was similarly horrified.
"I was shocked, and never would have expected that to happen. This is Houston, and there are crazy drivers, [but] I never would have expected to see them going through a cemetery – especially when everyone was there to pay their respects during a patriotic flyover."
And the woman behind the wheel just plain didn't care about any blowback.
As Hill also told KTRK:
"My mom stood in front of the van, and finally had to jump out of the way, because she was going to hit her... She knew she was being photographed, but she didn't care.."
She continued:
"I felt bad for the families whose loved ones' graves were run over. It's so disrespectful and especially on a day when we're honoring veterans of World War ll."
On Twitter, people were similarly appalled:
Thankfully, no headstones or markers were damaged according to Jessica Jacobsen, a spokesperson for the Department of Veteran's Affairs which runs the cemetery. The incident is under investigation by the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable's Office.
