Truck crashes into Royer Cemetery
Trending
A single-vehicle accident on Royer Mountain Road in Woodbury Township sent a load of sand and crash debris into Royer Cemetery on Friday morning.
According to state police, due to an apparent brake failure, the 53-year-old driver of a Kenworth truck was unable to control the speed of the vehicle while descending the steep mountain road. As the truck approached the sharp curve near the cemetery, it crossed the westbound lane, went off the road and struck a tree and embankment. The impact caused the truck to roll onto its side and slide into the cemetery, striking several headstones.
The driver, of Mapleton Depot, was seriously injured, police reported, and he was transported to UPMC Altoona.
The load of sand, debris from the truck and the tree, as well as headstones, were scattered across the cemetery after the 8:30 a.m. accident.
Jeff Gunnett, caretaker of the cemetery, said Friday afternoon that while there is a lot of work to do to restore the cemetery, first "we need to pray" for the driver's wellbeing.
Despite the steep mountain and sharp curve, Gunnett said Friday's accident was the first time he could recall that a crash ended up in the cemetery, which dates back to the 1800s and contains the graves of Civil War soldiers in the older, back section.
The Royer Cemetery Association is a nonprofit, made up of people who buy plots, Gunnett said.
The section that took most of the damage is the newer section, he said. As of Friday afternoon, he couldn't say how many markers were damaged or destroyed by the crash, but all the new sections are mapped and cataloged.
"We know exactly where everything is," he said. "Anywhere where a headstone or something has been damaged, we'll notify the plot owners and they can pick out a new headstone and get it replaced."
"The company that owned the truck has been very responsive," Gunnett said, noting that the driver's or company's insurance firm hired a cleanup crew to work on the site Friday.
The cemetery will remain closed until the cleanup is complete, he said.
Debris from the crash also damaged a neighboring residence, state police reported.