Johnson, Oscar
960220
9700
em
Shortly after 11 am Eric called re a grave cave-in in Space 4, Lot 54, Block 16, The crave
is occupied by Os~Johnson. Drivers for Annette Vault Co had driven over the spaces
on their way to dump a load of dirt. Eric had called Glenn but he was on his way to
Tampa so he told Eric to fill the hole after the truck was pulled free assuming there was
no damage, Eric advised them to call for a tow truck and to remove dirt while waiting
which they did.
I flagged Pam Akin to ask if we were obligated to check the vault for damage prior to
filling in the hole, She advised me that we were and to notify the family if it was
damaged. I conveyed this to Eric. At approx 12:05 Eric called me to report when the
other vault truck tried to pull the truck free, more damage was done to the gravespace,
The lid was visibly damaged and the space was full of water. Eric called Ozell and asked
him to come out with a camera. Ozelle told him he would be there in 20 minutes. At
12:30 Eric called me again, Ozell was not there. I suggested he call him again. He did
and Ozell advised him to wait for Glenn who was on his way back from Tampa. I
suggested he ask Ozell if he wanted him to call PD while he wated for Glenn. Ozell
advised Eric that Glenn would take care of it.
Glenn had left a message for me to call Mr Young when I returned from lunch. I called.
Mr. Young at approx, 2:30, Mr. Young stated he was aware of the situation via a phone
call from Mr, Collins (owner of vault co). Mr. Young stated Mr. Collins offered to replace
the vault or just the lid depending on the amount of damage. Mr. Young offered to
supervise the repair/replacement since remains would be disturbed. I told them we needed
to notify family and Moss Funeral home.
I told Dan O'Dell at Moss (562-2070) about the accident at Mr. Johnson's gravesite, He
gave the info to his manager who accepted Mr. Young's offer to supervise the
repair/replacement. Dan offered to try and contact Mrs, Ella Mae Scruggs, of Thomasville,
GA., who is the sister of the deceased according to their files. He also gave me the name
of Tyrone Johnson, who is the son of the deceased and indicated he lived locally but had
no address or phone info..
On Friday AM, I contacted June Diebel, Police Communication Operator CPD, to requested
a computer search for Tyrone Johnson. Eric called and stated Sharon Walton and also
someone from Moss Funeral Home had come out and taken photos of the accident site.
At approx 10:45 AM Dan O'Dell called and reported he had been successful in reaching
Mrs, Scruggs. He stated "she understood that accidents can happen and it was alright
with her that we make repairs to her brother's grave", Shortly thereafter, Comm Operator
Diebel reported running into a dead end in her search for Tyrone and unless I could provide
additional info, that was as far as she could go. I thanked her for her efforts. I called Mr.
Young at 11: 15 AM to tell him what Dan had stated and to proceed with the
repair/replacement, I then called Eric to inform him the work would be done sometime this
afternoon. I left a message on Glenn's recorder,