CITY OF NEWBURGH – An 82-year-old Civil War monument at the City of Newburgh’s Downing Park was heavily damaged when a vehicle plowed into it early Tuesday morning.

Police have yet to release the details, except to say no charges have been filed. But the president of the Downing Park Planning Committee said a driver ran into the marble monolith, which was set back about 20 feet from Route 9W between Third and South streets, around 5 a.m.

The collision toppled the monument’s centerpiece, an 8 1/2-foot-high block, and damaged two marble benches that sat on each side of the centerpiece.

“It wasn’t an easy thing to hit, and the destruction is actually shocking,” said Karen McCarthy, DPPC’s president. “Nobody was killed, but it had to be a pretty big car or it had to be going awfully fast for this to happen.”

The monument was dedicated in 1934 by the National Daughters of the Union, according to the city’s webpage on Downing Park’s memorials, and it was first used as a water fountain.

Although toppled, the centerpiece is still largely intact, and McCarthy is hoping the monument can be repaired. Already, the city has started the process of finding out if the driver’s insurer will cover the damage, she said.

“I think it is repairable, but it’s kind of amazing to see something of that size being knocked down by a car or a small truck,” McCarthy said.

lsparks@th-record.com