Longtime Hudson Valley Teacher Killed in Head-on Collision

A nun who worked at Hudson Valley Catholic high school died and another is seriously hurt after a head-on crash.

On Friday around 3:45 p.m., State Troopers responded to State Route 6 for a reported head-on auto collision in Somers. An investigation revealed that 48-year-old Christina Deagan of Cortlandt Manor, was traveling westbound on State Route 6 when her vehicle entered the eastbound lane. Deagan’s 2003 Suzuki struck a 2011 Honda, operated by Marie Murphy, 83, of Somers.

Barabara Heil, an 80-year-old passenger in Murphy’s vehicle, was pronounced dead on the scene. Heil was a teacher at John F. Kennedy Catholic since the Somers schools opening in 1967.

“Sister Barbara was incredible in every way. This is truly a great loss to Kennedy Catholic and to our community as a whole,” the school released in a statement on their website. “She will be profoundly missed by everyone whose lives she touched, from her countless students in her Latin classes, to the boys and girls who went with her to Goshen to work with the Mustard Seed Migrant Ministry, to the works of art she created with her sewing machine for the auction and play.”

Both Deagan and Murphy were transported to Westchester Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. According to John F. Kennedy Catholic’s website, Murphy is in ICU.