On January 8, 1906, Edward Heffern while standing in Rockland Street in the Village of Haverstraw was killed. In close proximity to the street were deep excavations into which the earth between these excavations and the line of the street, and also that forming part of the roadbed of the street itself, fell, drawing him down to his death.
Below is a transcript from the Court Case stemming from Mr. Heffern’s death. Very little first hand stories have been written about the tragedy in Haverstraw that day, and this describes what transpired.
At the time, the brick industry dominated the Village and many of the residents worked for the yards. In fact Mr. Heffern ran towards the slide after leaving the saloon, a classic case of contributory negligence.
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