Grieving Man Arrested for ‘Littering’ Flowers on Late Fiancee’s Grave
An Alabama man whose fiancée died in a car wreck just months after he asked her to marry him was arrested for littering after placing a flower box on her grave.
Winchester Hagans popped the question just one month before Hannah Ford died in a car crash in January 2021.
Hagans had made several promises to Hannah, one of them being that he would never bring her cut flowers from a florist.
Staying true to his word, Hagans handcrafted a planter box, filled it with her favorite flowers, decorated it with photos and left it on her grave.
"Even though she is gone, I promised her I would never bring her cut flowers again," Hagans told WTVM. "She was the love of my life, the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."
Hagans claims he first spoke with the city to ask if it was okay to place the box by Hannah's grave.
"The people of the city told me that they don't enforce that unless a family member ask[s] for it to be removed," Hagans said.
In January 2022, however, Hagans was suddenly arrested for littering.
"The officer came over and said, 'Hey, Mr. Hagans, can you step out of the car? There is a warrant for your arrest.' I said, 'No, that's impossible, there's no way,'" Hagans told WKRC.
Hannah's father, Tom Ford, reportedly signed the warrant for his arrest.
Hagans alleges Ford never contacted him before he was arrested. Ford has not responded to any press requests.
Nevertheless, Hagans has no regrets about being arrested, and he would build a thousand flower boxes if he had to, for one simple reason: "I want to love and honor the person that I loved the most."
According to Hagans' Instagram, Hannah's flower box continues to be a thorn in someone's side, presumably Ford's.
"This is the 4th time I’ve put a flower box on her grave and someone she knew keeps trashing them. Someone keeps throwing away the flowers I plant… but each time he throws them away I’ll plant more."