Strange but True: Funeral Car Used in Drunk Stalking Case
Most funeral car enthusiasts are perfectly nice, normal people. They are interested in the cars by profession or by hobby and otherwise lead calm, uneventful lives. However, any trade or hobby is bound to have its fringe element. Today we bring you a story about one such fringe member, as reported by Australia’s news.com.au.
Apparently the trouble started for this particular gentleman in 2001. An undertaker by profession, he accidentally switched two bodies – one designated for cremation and the other for burial. The mix up eventually led to court proceedings initiated by the aggrieved families of the two deceased.
Trouble began anew in December 2004, in the middle of hearings on the earlier case. Allegedly the undertaker, drunk and belligerent after a staff Christmas party, took to the streets in the company funeral car. He came upon a woman in Sydney who was on her way home from an evening out.
The woman claims that the undertaker pulled alongside her car, honking and yelling. This led to a bizarre low-speed chase throughout the streets of Sydney. It is not clear what, if any, connection the undertaker may have had to the woman he pursued.
Upon his arrest, the undertaker insisted that he was a passenger in the car, rather than the driver. He gave the name of a fellow funeral home employee as the driver. However, the other employee denied the charge. Investigators found a crisp, new newspaper neatly folded in the passenger seat, leading them to determine that, in fact, the undertaker had been alone in the car. His blood alcohol level at the time was measured at 0.162.
The undertaker was charged with unlicensed driving, driving in a menacing manner, drunk driving and disobeying police orders. He has been found guilty on all charges, although he may be sentenced under mental health provisions. Sentencing has been postponed pending further psychiatric evaluation.
If you are a funeral car enthusiast, your car will draw enough attention on its own. Don’t do anything stupid to draw the sort of attention you do not want or need.
Filed Under: Funeral Cars
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