First Responders Rescue Man Who Fell Into Grave In South Brunswick

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — First responders in South Brunswick and neighboring towns rescued a man who fell inside a 6-foot-deep grave on Tuesday afternoon.

At 12:55 p.m. on Tuesday, South Brunswick Police received a report of a man falling into a grave at the Holy Cross Cemetery, 840 Route 535.

South Brunswick EMS, Monmouth Junction Fire Department, and Monroe Fire Department responded immediately. The agencies found a 47-year-old man approximately 6 feet in an open grave site, police said.

Rescuers learned that the man was working on the site when a piece of wood gave way and he fell in.

A special trench and rescue team from the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad (PFARS) responded to the cemetery. Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad Chief Matthew Stiff said it took time to carefully secure the gravesite and get the man out.

“Rescue technicians deployed trench panels and ground pads to stabilize the area in and around the pit. We then had to use a rope system to get the man out of the grave and turn him over to EMS. It took time to make sure everything worked out,” Stiff said.

Rescue crews were able to remove the man by 2:10 p.m., police said.

He was taken by South Brunswick EMS to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick in stable condition.

South Brunswick Police Chief and OEM Coordinator Raymond Hayducka thanked the two dozen first responders for safely rescuing the man.

“It is always a team effort that makes the difference,” Hayducka said.

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