Deciding not to wait for police to unlock a gate at Forest Home Cemetery so he could leave, a man instead drove his car through it, moments before crashing into a tree on the way out.

Police had been dispatched to unlock the cemetery gate in the 800 block of Desplaines Avenue around 5:30 p.m. on March 15 when they received a second call informing them that one of the people waiting had rammed through it.

That person then allegedly drove across both lanes of traffic on Desplaines Avenue and into a tree.

When police arrived on the scene they observed the vehicle’s driver lying on the ground outside the car. The man was reportedly “awake, breathing and alert.” He was transported to the hospital for further evaluation.

Cemetery staff estimated the cost of repairing the gate at $2,000.

This information was obtained from police reports filed by the Forest Park Police Department. Unless otherwise indicated, anybody named in these reports has only been charged with a crime. These cases have not been adjudicated.