KEY POINTS

  • A red minivan was recorded on video running over gravestones in a Houston, Texas veterans cemetery
  • Sunday (May 10) was both Mothers’ Day and Victory in Europe Day commemorating the end of World War II in Europe
  • Witnesses say the woman driver was trying to escape traffic after a military flyover

A woman in Texas driving a minivan tried to avoid traffic during World War II commemorations at a veterans' cemetery by running over the tombstones of military veterans.

The incident at Houston National Cemetery during Mothers’ Day on Sunday (May 10), which coincided with the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, was captured on video.

A witness said that the driver knew she was being recorded on different mobile devices “but she didn't care” and continued to try and escape traffic, even if it meant driving over the graves.

It followed a flyover from the Lone Star Flight Museum as part of the commemorations for VE Day, when families also visited the graves of World War II veterans.

Amanda Hill told KTRK news that she and her family were standing by the grave of her grandparents Robert Eugene and Ruth Marsh who were interred in the cemetery when a woman driving a red minivan tried to leave in a hurry after the flyover.

She recalled that the minivan tried to escape the traffic by backing up, then going up on the curb to avoid the cars. When the driver couldn’t get around, “she started running over the graves.”

Hill said that the driver’s window was down and that the driver heard onlookers yelling at her to stop, but she “just kept doing it. My mother approached the van, and the driver told her she had to get out."

Jeremiah Johnston was one of the people who recorded the incident, and said he was shocked to see it happen, even in Houston where “there are crazy drivers.”

“I never would have expected to see them going through a cemetery,” Johnston told KTRK. “Especially when everyone was there to pay their respects during a patriotic flyover.”

Hill also said her mother tried to stop the woman from running over her grandparents’ grave by standing in front of the van. However, she had to jump out of the way when the driver did not stop and kept driving.

The Harris County constable has not received reports about the incident has not yet identified the driver in the video.

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