NORTHAMPTON — The motorist who plowed into St. Mary Cemetery early Saturday was traveling at such high speed that portions of the damaged gravestones appeared to have landed 20 to 30 feet from their original positions, according to police reports.

Matthew J. Dulude, 19, of Holyoke was arraigned Monday in Northampton District Court where he pleaded not guilty to charges of drunken driving, having an open container in the vehicle, speeding and failure to wear a seat belt. Judge John McKenna ordered him to return to court June 13 for a pretrial conference.

Police came upon Dulude’s wrecked 2007 Infinity G35X on North Elm Street at approximately 1:45 a.m., with a Chevy Trailblazer parked in front of it, according to the report of Officer Matthew Montini.

The front end of the Infinity was heavily damaged, police said, with a shattered windshield, wheels dislodged from their strut assemblies and the radiator exposed. “The front bumper and various portions of the undercarriage appeared to have been stacked in the rear passenger seat,” Officer Jonathan Bartlett stated.

The driver of the Trailblazer, William Dulude, told police his son had called him an hour earlier to tell him he’d crashed his car into the cemetery. He said he had managed to tow the car out of the cemetery, but “could not explain what his plan was or how far he thought he was going to get by dragging the damaged vehicle,” Montini reported.

William Dulude acknowledged to police that he should have called 911.

Bartlett reported that he found a piece of granite headstone in the roadway on Bridge Road, and observed extensive damage to 15 to 20 headstones. Vehicle debris littered the graves leading 30 to 40 feet back from the road, he stated, and could see several large divots in the sod and tire marks.

“Portions of grave stone appeared to have landed 20-30 feet from their original positions, which indicated to me they had been struck at high speeds,” Bartlett reported.

When officers spoke to Matthew Dulude, he told them he had been on his way to visit his ex-girlfriend in Florence. He said he was heading west on Bridge Road when he saw three cars coming toward him, one in the wrong lane, forcing him to swerve left off the road and into the cemetery. He said he’d been going 40 to 45 mph in the 35-mph zone.

Officers said they noted a strong smell of alcoholic beverage on Matthew Dulude and inside the car, where they could see an opened can of Michelob Ultra on the floor.

Police said breath tests conducted at the scene and at the police station showed Dulude had a blood alcohol content higher than the legal limit for drivers.

Dulude also had several lacerations on his face arms and hands and complained of soreness while being evaluated by paramedics, but declined transport to the hospital. His passenger told police he was uninjured.

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