An elderly New Yorker was tragically killed when Monday’s nor’easter blew a solar panel from a roof and sent it careening into the streets below.
A forceful wind gust ripped the massive solar panel – more than 7-by-3 feet across — from an outdoor parking lot structure on Ocean Parkway near Brighton Beach Avenue, according to the NYPD and the city’s Department of Buildings.
The panel was swept up by the wind and flew about 20 feet, then struck 76-year-old Lyudmila Braun, cops and buildings officials said.
A forceful gust of wind caused a 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. Google Maps
Braun — who lived about five blocks away — was knocked to the ground, where she lay unconscious and unresponsive, cops said.
She was taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, where she was pronounced dead, police said.
Her death is considered to be a freak accident, cops said.
A wind advisory was in effect citywide over the storm sweeping up the coast Sunday into Monday, with the National Weather Service warning about 20 to 30 mph winds and gusts up to 45 mph that could “cause flying debris” and “turn unsecured objects into projectiles.”
The fatal accident prompted a partial vacate order for the parking lot underneath the solar panel structure, the department said.
“Additional enforcement actions” are pending the results of an ongoing DOB investigation, the officials said.
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” during the storm officials said.
A woman is seen braving the elements in New York City as the nor’easter hit the region. Gregory P. Mango
State officials declared a state of emergency in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County on Sunday as the nor’easter barreled into the region with severe winds, steady rain, huge waves and flooding.
The strongest gust in the metro area clocked in at 71 mph in Barnegat, New Jersey, while the strength of the storm’s sustained winds across the region was notable, Fox Weather told The Post.
Wave heights were also particularly impressive, with curlers crashing along the Jersey Shore and across Long Island between 10 and a towering 20 feet.
Coastal communities up and down the East Coast saw substantial flooding – especially during high tides.
And while New York and New Jersey were spared the worst of the rains – only seeing between 1 and 2 inches in most places – the southern states saw serious inundation.
Georgetown, South Carolina, was drenched in over 10 inches of rain, Fox Weather reported, while Oyster Landing saw more than 9 inches, Pawleys Island saw 8 inches, and Whiteville, North Carolina, saw 4 inches.
The storm began moving out to sea Monday evening and will have mostly cleared out Tuesday.
“Behind the storm, the winds may stay gusty and cooler temperatures will build in across the East,” said Fox Weather meteorologist Cody Braud.