The powerful nor’easter sweeping through the region claimed a life in New York City Monday when a flying solar panel hit a 76-year-old woman in the head as she walked in Brooklyn.
A forceful gust of wind caused the 41-by-87-inch panel to detach from a rooftop carport at an outdoor parking lot on Ocean Parkway near Brighton Beach Avenue in West Brighton, according to the NYPD and the city’s Department of Buildings.
The panel was swept up by the wind and flew about 20 feet, where it struck Lyudmila Braun, who lived about five blocks away and happened to be walking by, cops and buildings officials said.
The impact caused the woman to fall to the ground, unconscious and unresponsive, cops said.
She was taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
Her death was considered to be a freak accident, cops said.
It came as a wind advisory was in effect citywide, with the National Weather Service warning of 20 to 30 mph winds with gusts up to 45 mph that could “cause flying debris” and “turn unsecured objects into projectiles.”
Meanwhile, the DOB worked with the MTA to close off one of the entrances to the nearby above-ground Ocean Parkway Q train station “in the interest of public safety,” officials said.
A partial vacate order was also issued for the parking lot underneath the solar panel installation, the department said.
“Additional enforcement actions” are pending the results of an ongoing DOB investigation, the officials said.
The fierce storm has prompted officials to declare a state of emergency in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County.
The inclement weather forced the cancellation of the city’s annual Columbus Day Parade.
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