An SUV destroyed and knocked over around 15 tombstones at St John's Lutheran Church in Cranberry on Freedom Rd. on Friday morning. Julia Maruca/Butler Eagle

CRANBERRY TWP — An SUV that crashed into the cemetery at St. John's Lutheran Church on Freedom Road damaged more than a dozen headstones that may be irreplaceable, according to administration at the church.

The vehicle skidded down Freedom Road just before 6 a.m. Friday morning and collided with a number of stones, some of which dated back to before the Civil War.

Cranberry Township Police Lt. Chuck Mascellino said the driver sustained minor injuries.

Bill Vickinovac, treasurer of the St. John's church council, said the material in the damaged tombstones could be up to 200 years old, and that some of the marble may have come from overseas quarries that may no longer be in operation.

“To get that replaced, I can't even imagine,” he said. “It's not really replaceable. It will get substituted for something else.”

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The vehicle that hit the tombstones on Friday morning was towed away. Submitted photo from Bill Vickinovac.