This Day in History: 1933-04-21
Joseph Zero of Orange Avenue Suffern committed suicide by jumping in front of the Erie Railroad train #27 as it approached the Mahwah station at 3:15pm. The train engineer, C. Craine, saw him on the tracks and blew his whistle, but he was unable to stop in time. Unlike many in those depression times, Zero did not take his life because he was out of work. He was a house painter and had been working on a large contract. But he had told his friends that he was tired of life and would some day kill himself in front of a train. He was survived by his wife and six children. He was fifty-five years old. (Bristow)