Mother frustrated by flooded cemetery in Henrico

HENRICO, Va. (WWBT) - A mother in mourning is searching for answers after dealing with an issue for more than a decade.

Susan Vick reached out to 12 On Your Side because she says the Henrico cemetery where her son is buried consistently floods and leaves standing water sitting on her son’s grave and marker for days.

“This is a place that I come to pray and to talk to him and tell him great things that his sisters are doing, great things our family are doing, to talk to him about his daddy, and or just just to talk to him and to find some solace,” Vick said.

Her son, Jacob, died in October 2013 just days before his 16th birthday. He collapsed during football practice at New Kent High School.

“And I feel like I’ve gone through every stage there is of grief,” Vick said.

Now when she visits Jacob’s grave at Washington Memorial Park, she’s often met with frustration.

“When you come out here after rain or snow and basically looks like a swimming pool, it’s mushy land,” she said.

Vick says she’s been given various explanations, but no lasting solutions.

When 12 On Your Side investigators reached out to the cemetery, we were told “rainfall this year has made conditions more challenging.”

“We have taken steps to help mitigate the issue,” the cemetery said, “including raising markers, adding soil and implementing other improvements to promote better drainage. We continue to evaluate long-term solutions.”

The cemetery initially said it no longer sold new property in the section that floods and it will provide alternative options to impacted families when requested.

When asked what those alternative options were, the cemetery said “any specific requests made by families are considered private.”

“This is a physical resting spot for my son’s body, but it makes me sad because I come out here because I am sad and then I have to deal with that on top of it and then it makes me angry, and it’s not right,” Vick said.