Driver Crashes Into Elmwood Cemetery

A Saturday night crash at Elmwood Cemetery in Cedar Springs left multiple headstones damaged and a vehicle overturned. The driver, a 37-year-old woman from Morley, was arrested and charged with operating while intoxicated (OWI). The Kent County Sheriff's Office believes both drugs and alcohol played a role in the crash. Witness Nathaniel Madonna was driving home with his family after an ice cream outing when he saw the incident unfold. "She careened through," he said. "Starts plowing through headstones, bouncing along, and it hits a massive one by the end. And that's when the vehicle flipped, did a whole flip, and it was quite the scene." Madonna and other bystanders acted quickly to assist the driver. One man was able to open the door to let the driver out of the vehicle. The driver, the only person in the car, was able to walk out despite the crash. The impact caused widespread damage in the cemetery, primarily to headstones. By Tuesday, cemetery staff had worked to reposition the damaged headstones, though evidence of the crash is still visible. "Thankfully, no one was in the path of the vehicle. The only thing damaged was physical property," Madonna added.The crash serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of impaired driving.