Max R. Yerkes died attempting to save Cecile M. Haflett from drowning, Horseheads, New York, May 23, 1934. As Cecile, 12, attempted to mount her bicycle on a bridge over Newtown Creek, she lost her balance and fell into water eight feet deep and drifted slowly to a point 17 feet from the bank. After a man, who was a fair swimmer, had waded a few feet toward her and then had returned to the bank, Yerkes, 34, machinist, who was a very poor swimmer and was fully clothed, waded a step or two from the bank and then plunged toward Cecile. He made strokes with his arms, reached a point within seven feet of Cecile, and began to thresh wildly. Cecile sank and did not reappear. Yerkes soon sank. Both were drowned. 34097-2819
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