An alleged drunken driver drove into a midtown Omaha cemetery early Sunday, causing an undetermined amount of damage to grave markers before becoming disabled.Â
A social media post by the Omaha Police Department's Project Night Life displayed a photograph of a car disabled inside Holy Sepulchre Cemetery at 4912 Leavenworth St. The driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.169, more than twice the legal limit to drive, according to the post.Â
Bill Barnes, the manager of memorials and facilities for Catholic Cemeteries, said Monday that he went to the cemetery for the removal of the vehicle. The vehicle crashed through the fence along 50th Street on the west side of the cemetery, he said.Â
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"It hit a few monuments," Barnes said. "We don't have an estimate yet on the damage. Hopefully, we can get up there today and take care of everything."
Barnes said the vehicle lost "several pieces" of its body from its collision with the fence and striking memorial monuments. One tire of the vehicle, he said, was bent inward.Â
Police said the driver, a 20-year-old man, was northbound on 50th Street at a high speed about 1:45 a.m. when his vehicle left the roadway, went over the curb, hit a small tree and crashed through the cemetery fence. The vehicle collided with approximately "seven to 10 headstones" that were displaced and damaged, a police spokesperson said.
The driver was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, being a minor in possession of alcohol, colliding with fixed objects, having no registration and no proof of insurance.Â
An alleged drunken driver went through a fence at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Omaha early Sunday and caused damage to several of the memorial markers. A social media post by the Omaha Police Department said the driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.169, more than twice the legal limit for driving.Â