Man Who Crashed Into Cemetery Fell Asleep At the Wheel: Police

EAST HAMPTON, NY-The man responsible for crashing through a fence at East Hampton Village’s North End Cemetery and causing thousands of dollars in property damage after he destroyed historic headstones has been arrested, police said.

Police said Luis M. Pacho-Mejia, 37, of East Hampton turned himself in at 2:44 p.m. on Tuesday, accompanied by his attorney, Sandra Melendez of East Hampton, police said.

He was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident, police said.

Pacho-Mejia alleges he fell asleep at the wheel while driving home to his Montauk Highway home at 3 a.m. on Sunday when the accident occurred.

East Hampton Village’s historic North End Cemetery, which has headstones dating back hundreds of years, is facing “thousands of dollars in property damage” after his car careened off the roadway and into a fence, police said.

According to East Hampton Village Police, the accident occurred when the Pacho-Mejia, the driver of a 2001 gray NIssan XTerra ,failed to negotiate a curve in the road, left the roadway, collided with a fence and ran into approximately 12 headstone, some dating back hundreds of years. He initially fled the scene, police said.