Bizarre death!

[OVERKILL]

Quote:
HARRISBURG, Pa.- A Pennsylvania man was helping decorate his mother-in-law's tombstone on Monday ahead of the Easter holiday when it suddenly toppled over, pinning him underneath and killing him, a cemetery caretaker said.

The 400-pound stone fatally injured Stephen Woytack, 74, of Scranton, said Edward Kubilas, caretaker of St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery in the eastern Pennsylvania town of Throop, just outside of Scranton.

On Monday morning, Woytack was kneeling next to the grave marker while his wife tied on a cross on the other side, Kubilas said. The stoner toppled without warning in the soft spring ground.

"His wife came running to get me," Kubilas told Reuters. "By the time I got there, he was not too good. I got half the stone off him. It must have been adrenaline."

A police officer and ambulance arrived almost immediately and helped him wrestle the rest of the 4-foot by 4-foot stone off Woytack, Kubilas said, but it was too late to save him.

"It's a tragic thing," Kubilas said. "There's nothing you could do."

Woytack and his wife visited the cemetery several times each year to decorate the family grave, Kubilas said.

 

[eljefino]

You should never take life for granite.

 

[daves87rs]

Ouch....

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

The MIL had waited years for the chance.

 

[JHZR2]

Sad unless he had a big life insurance policy...

 

[jacky]

assuming this is not a joke, the cemetary would be liable
and im sure a lawsuit would be filed

 

[EdwardC]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
You should never take life for granite.


I laughed a little too much at that.

 

[Stelth]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Quote:
HARRISBURG, Pa.- A Pennsylvania man was helping decorate his mother-in-law's tombstone on Monday ahead of the Easter holiday when it suddenly toppled over, pinning him underneath and killing him, a cemetery caretaker said.

The 400-pound stone fatally injured Stephen Woytack, 74, of Scranton, said Edward Kubilas, caretaker of St. Joseph's Catholic Cemetery in the eastern Pennsylvania town of Throop, just outside of Scranton.

On Monday morning, Woytack was kneeling next to the grave marker while his wife tied on a cross on the other side, Kubilas said. The stoner toppled without warning in the soft spring ground.

"His wife came running to get me," Kubilas told Reuters. "By the time I got there, he was not too good. I got half the stone off him. It must have been adrenaline."

A police officer and ambulance arrived almost immediately and helped him wrestle the rest of the 4-foot by 4-foot stone off Woytack, Kubilas said, but it was too late to save him.

"It's a tragic thing," Kubilas said. "There's nothing you could do."

Woytack and his wife visited the cemetery several times each year to decorate the family grave, Kubilas said.




Stoners will do that.

 

[CourierDriver]

to funny

 

[stockrex]

I am at a loss.....
reminds me of the grandma who died when she was hit while she was putting flowers on the road side where her granddaughter died of an accident in PA :-(

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: jacky
assuming this is not a joke, the cemetary would be liable
and im sure a lawsuit would be filed


That may not be true.
If it's a cemetery (note the correct spelling) at which the headstones and graves are not installed and maintained by the cemetery then the cemetery or cemetery trust/trustees can't be held liable. If the headstones are installed and maintained by the cemetery, then it may well have some culpability depending on state laws.

 

[LotI]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Quote:
HARRISBURG, Pa.- A Pennsylvania man was helping decorate his mother-in-law's tombstone on Monday ahead of the Easter holiday when it suddenly toppled over was pushed over, pinning him underneath and killing him, a cemetery caretaker said

On Monday morning, Woytack was kneeling next to the grave marker while his wife tied on a cross on the other side, Kubilas said. The stoner toppled without warning in the soft spring ground.

"His wife came running walking to get me," Kubilas told Reuters. "By the time I got there, he was not too good. I got half the stone off him. It must have been adrenaline."

Woytack and his wife visited the cemetery several times each year to decorate the family grave, Kubilas said.




For years, the wife planned this by moving it just a little bit at a time.

 

[tinmanSC]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
You should never take life for granite.

HAHAHAH!!! LOL! Oh man... I'm going to someplace warm when I die...

 

[mrsilv04]

The Mother-In-Law finally got that perfect chance...

 

[MCompact]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
You should never take life for granite.


You shouldn't be joking about such a grave occurrence.

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: stockrex
I am at a loss.....
reminds me of the grandma who died when she was hit while she was putting flowers on the road side where her granddaughter died of an accident in PA :-(

Yea. Somehow I could never see the cross and flower thing near the road where someone died. That's just me.

 

[Shannow]

A great case to push for MIL cremation, and a small 12"x12" plot

 

[PierreR]

This thing is not that uncommon here.
Last time i think it was a 8 year old that had a stone fall on her and did not survive.

What happens is that the the headstone sits on a basestone and in that base there are 2 or 3 metal pins to keep the headstone secure.
Some years ago someone decided that stainless steel was way to good (expensive) for holding the headstone secure and replaced it with ordinary steel that rusts.
After a few years those steelpins have rusted away and all it takes is a little push and the stone falls.

If you drive past a graveyard here you can see when the workers have checked if the stones are secure or not.
Those that are not secure will be lying ontop of the graves untill the metal pins have been replaced.

 

[threeputtpar]

Originally Posted By: LotI
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Quote:
HARRISBURG, Pa.- A Pennsylvania man was helping decorate his mother-in-law's tombstone on Monday ahead of the Easter holiday when it suddenly toppled over was pushed over, pinning him underneath and killing him, a cemetery caretaker said

On Monday morning, Woytack was kneeling next to the grave marker while his wife tied on a cross on the other side, Kubilas said. The stoner toppled without warning in the soft spring ground.

"His wife came running walking to get me," Kubilas told Reuters. "By the time I got there, he was not too good. I got half the stone off him. It must have been adrenaline."

Woytack and his wife visited the cemetery several times each year to decorate the family grave, Kubilas said.




For years, the wife planned this by moving it just a little bit at a time.


This is exactly what I was thinking when first reading the story. Wife on one side of the stone husband kneeling down in front of the other side.

Maybe she accidentially/intentionally leaned a bit too much on the stone and BAM! Collect life insurance and move to a tropical island somewhere.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Is this accident or homicide ? If wife just took out a larger life insurance on husband few months ago, then it may not be an accident.