COEUR d'ALENE — This wasn't the first time Tina Johnson had seen broken headstones and crushed fencing at St. Thomas Cemetery, but on Friday morning, it was still very disappointing. 

"Maybe we need Jersey barriers here," Johnson said. 

A vehicle heading east on Front Avenue early Friday took out several sections of the black, steel fence, snapped off a headstone, went over more headstones before crashing into another larger, headstone and knocking it down.

The vehicle traveled about 50 feet before coming to a stop.

Damage was estimated at $10,000 and repairs could take weeks, even months, depending on insurance. 

Mike Kopf, maintenance superintendent, said the cemetery, which has undergone extensive improvements in the past five years, has been free of incidents since a similar accident occurred a little more than three years ago.

"It rarely happens," he said. 

In February 2023, a person drove through the same fenced area and struck headstones in the old section of the cemetery where children are buried. Alcohol was reportedly involved in that incident.

A rock headstone dating back to 1943 was struck then and was struck again Friday. 

According to a Coeur d'Alene police report, Zane Anthony Trevino was arrested at the scene and booked into the Kootenai County jail early Friday on a charge of driving under the influence. He remained there as of Friday afternoon, according to jail records.

The report said a Coeur d’Alene police officer saw a red 2006 Volkswagen drive eastbound at 20th Street and Front Avenue operating without taillights about 2 a.m.

The report said by the time the officer caught up with the vehicle, it had crashed through the cemetery fence. 

“As I activated my overhead emergency lights, the vehicle was at a stop but reversed over a headstone and backed into another headstone after which the vehicle came to a final rest," the report said.

The officer made contact with the driver. 

“I immediately detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from the vehicle," the report said.

According to the report, Trevino was not injured.

Johnson, a member of the St. Thomas Catholic Church cemetery committee, led beautiful projects there over the past few years that included new statues and benches, a restored shrine, a veterans monument and lighting. 

She said barriers would not be aesthetically pleasing outside the cemetery but might be necessary. 

"We don't want this to happen again," she said.

    Mike Kopf checks on broken fencing at St. Thomas Cemetery after a vehicle crashed through it on Friday.