A day of hanging Easter decorations at a Pennsylvania cemetery ended in tragedy when a 74-year-old man was killed by a falling tombstone- in front of his wife.
Stephen Woytack, said to be a deeply religious man from Scranton, was tying a cross around a headstone in Saint Josephs Cemetery in Throop, Pennsylvania, when the massive stone toppled off its base and trapped Woytack underneath, police told the New York Daily News.
"It landed across his waist and it pinned him," Throop Police Officer Andy Kerecman said of the horrific incident, which occurred in a section of the cemetery where Woytack's family is buried.
His wife tried lifting the massive stone, but it was too heavy and she was forced to frantically run in search of help.
"She literally, when it fell over, she ran and they're in their 70s- 74, 73. She probably ran a good 200 yards because the caretaker just happened to come to the cemetery," the officer told the Daily News.
The caretaker also tried freeing Woytack but the marker wouldn't budge. Kerecmen arrived at the scene and with the caretaker's help the stone was finally moved - but it was too late for the victim, who was given his last rites at the scene.
According to the caretaker, Woytack and his wife came to the cemetery every Easter to visit the grave and hang a cross, Kerecman said. The couple also recently purchased two plots in the cemetery, he told the Daily News.
"It's just a terrible, unfortunate accident. I've never seen anything like that. I'm going on almost 30 years," Kerecman said.
