Troy was on his way home from work as a line cook at a local restaurant at about 2:30 a.m. on Monday when he spotted something unusual.
He was nearing the corner of Old Yale and Marshall roads when he saw a car barreling through Musselwhite Cemetery, which doesn’t have any roads running through it.
The vehicle crashed through the fence on Old Yale Road, and Troy (not his real name), worried about what the driver would do next, decided to follow.
He called 911 and stayed on the phone with police as he tailed the red Hyundai Elantra. The vehicle wound its way toward Highway 1, entering at the eastbound Whatcom Road on-ramp. At one point, Troy saw the driver run a red light on North Parallel Road, almost hitting an SUV.
On the freeway, Troy observed the motorist going dangerously slow, hitting speeds of only 50 to 70 km/h in a 110 km/h zone.
The swerving vehicle was straddling both lanes of traffic, resulting in a line of about 30 cars behind it.
The driver then decided to turn around, and drove onto the grassy median dividing east- and west-bound traffic, and became stuck. Troy turned around at the next exit and arrived at the scene to see the Hyundai was still stuck, and two other vehicles had pulled over to help.
Police arrived, and Troy provided a witness statement.
Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald said the motorist, who is from Saskatchewan, had driven over 11 headstones in the cemetery. He now faces possible criminal charges for mischief/property damage.
Fraser Valley Traffic Services, which handles incidents on Highway 1, issued the man an immediate 24-hour suspension for driving impaired, as well as a 90-day driving ban.