Appalling moment woman drives her minivan over dozens of veterans' gravestones while trying to avoid traffic jam in Houston cemetery
- A woman was filmed Sunday driving over graves at Houston National Cemetery
- Dozens of people flocked to the cemetery to watch a flyover commemorating the 75th anniversary of VE Day
- The woman got caught in a traffic jam as people were leaving after the flyover
- Witnesses said she mowed down dozens of gravestones with her minivan while attempting to bypass other cars
Appalling video shows the moment a woman drove her minivan over the gravestones of military veterans as she tried to avoid a traffic jam inside Houston National Cemetery.
The woman was one of dozens of people who flocked to the cemetery on Sunday to watch a flyover from the Lone Star Flight Museum commemorating the 75th anniversary of VE Day - the end of World War II in Europe.
As people began to leave after the flyover concluded, the woman got impatient and sought to bypass other cars by driving over the grass.
'I was shocked, and never would have expected that to happen,' Jeremiah Johnston, the man who filmed the video, told KTRK.
'This is Houston, and there are crazy drivers, and 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.'
A woman was filmed driving her minivan over the gravestones of military veterans as she tried to avoid a traffic jam inside Houston National Cemetery on Sunday
Amanda Hill, another witness who went to the cemetery to visit her grandparents' graves, said the woman was in a hurry to leave as soon as the flyover ended.
'She tried to back up, and then went up on the curb of the section where my grandparents are buried,' Hill said.
'[The woman] couldn't get around some cars, and then she started running over the graves.'
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Hill estimated that the woman drove over dozens of graves in her repeated attempts to bypass other cars.
'She heard us yelling at her to stop, and just kept doing it,' she said.
'My mother approached the van, and the driver told her she had to get out.'
The woman was one of dozens of people who flocked to the cemetery to watch a flyover commemorating the 75th anniversary of VE Day. As people began to leave after the flyover concluded, the woman got impatient and sought to bypass other cars by driving over the grass
In the video, recorded by Jeremiah Johnston, witnesses are seen shouting at the driver telling her to stop as she mowed over dozens of gravestones
Hill said her family tried to block the woman as she approached the grave of her grandfather, Robert Eugene Marsh, a First Lieutenant in the Air Force known as the Bloody Hundred, which did bombing runs over Germany.
'My mom stood in front of the van, and finally had to jump out of the way, because she was going to hit her,' Hill said, adding that they did manage to keep her from going over Lt Marsh's grave.
Hill said the woman appeared unfazed by the fact that she was being photographed by people as they shouted at her to stop.
As of Monday the offending driver has not been identified, and the Harris County Constable's Office said it had not received any reports about the incident.
Hill said she was initially hesitant about raising her concerns in the media, but ultimately determined it was the right thing to do.
'I was talking to my parents earlier and said: "I don't want this to be a huge deal and reflect negatively,"' Hill told KTRK.
'My mom said: "No. Your grandfather would be proud of you for making sure this woman gets justice, because they would be appalled."'
Hill 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.'
