Broken Virgin Mary Statue, Headstones Scattered At Bristol Cemetery Post-Crash

BRISTOL, CT — It has been weeks since a vehicle came careening through the fence at St. Joseph Cemetery, crashing into headstones and even breaking a statue of the Virgin Mary into pieces.

As of Friday, evidence of the April 4 accident still remains at the Terryville Avenue (Route 6) cemetery, including a smashed fence; toppled and broken headstones and statues; and even some car parts.

Relatives of those whose graves were damaged are hoping to get them fixed.

Moira Pawlik said on Facebook her grandparents’ headstone was among those damaged in the accident.

“I would like to get it replaced,” Pawlik said.

Pawlik has contacted the cemetery. She has been reaching out to the auto insurance company of the driver, but said she hasn’t had luck so far.

According to police, a Honda Pilot operated by Jolie Alesandra Fox, 25, of Torrington, was westbound on Terryville Avenue on April 4 when it failed to negotiate a curve.

The vehicle crossed over the eastbound lane, hit a road sign, struck a steel post and wooden rail fence of the cemetery, then crashed into eight headstone monuments, the police report shows.

The driver told police she was looking down to adjust her music when the crash occurred, according to police.

Police said eight headstone monuments were damaged, and the headstones are familial, with each stone marking numerous individual graves.

Fox was given an infraction for failure to maintain proper lane, the police report shows.

Michael Frey, manager for the cemetery, said he has contacted the families involved and informed them that they can file an insurance claim for repair or replacement costs.

Frey said it is his understanding that the driver only had the mandatory minimum coverage requirement of $25,000 per accident for property damage.

Frey said the damage to the fence and the monuments at the cemetery likely exceeds that amount. He didn’t have an exact figure for how much it will cost to repair all the damage.

Grave monuments are privately-owned, and in some cases, can fall under one’s homeowner insurance. However, the monuments damaged in this crash are older, dating back decades, and are likely not covered by survivors’ plans, according to Frey.

Some of the impacted gravestones can be put back on their bases and repositioned in order to be fixed, because they were just knocked over, according to Frey.

“We hope to right some knocked over gravestones this week,” Frey said.

However, about two-thirds of the impacted monuments were “blown into pieces,” by the crash impact, he said.

Frey said he plans to take photographs and send them to families so they can assess damage and decide if they will make a claim.

Frey said the crash was just one at the cemetery in recent weeks.

In another crash, a motorist went through the cemetery’s fence and hit a tree, narrowly missing a memorial in honor of fallen Bristol police Sgt. Dustin DeMonte and Officer Alex Hamzy, who were killed in the line of duty in 2022.

Frey said there have been discussions about putting up a stronger barrier such as guardrails between the roadway and the cemetery, which is on both sides of Route 6.

“We are here to protect the people who are laid to rest here,” Frey said. “People are driving by and smashing through the fence. It is heartbreaking to see monuments laying on the ground.”