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8 months ago
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A Long Island pediatrician was on her way to watch the solar eclipse with her family when she fell out of the passenger door of the family’s new Airstream in front of her horrified daughter, it has been revealed.
Monika Woroniecki, 58, had just stopped for ice cream at a gas station with her family enroute to their AirBnb in Cape Vincent before she fell to her death.
According to New York State Trooper Sgt. Jack Keller, Woroniecki and her daughter Helena decided to ride the last 20 minutes of their trip in the $130,000 Airstream camper.
While Woroniecki was trying to secure the passenger side of the camper, she was thrown from the Airstream and died in front of her horrified family.
Neighbor Maria Antipas was left distraught outside the Woroniecki's Stony Brook, New York, home on Monday over the news of Woroniecki's passing.
‘I can’t believe something like this would happen. They are just a lovely family, good neighbors. She's a nice person,' Antipas said.
Monika Woroniecki (right) was on her way to view the eclipse when she was tossed from an Airstream while on a New York Road. Her husband, Richard, was driving a pickup that was pulling the Airstream, when Monika fell out in front of her family
Woroniecka was a children's allergy and immunology specialist at Stony Brook Medicine, which she practiced for more than 20 years
While Woroniecki was trying to secure the passenger side of the camper, she got thrown from the $130,000 Airstream
The family was on their way to view the eclipse and had just stopped for ice cream before the tragedy
Her husband Robert Woroniecki, 59, was driving the couple’s 2019 gray Ram pick-up truck west around 3 pm Saturday on Route 12 E in Brownville when the tragedy happened.
Witnesses behind the Airstream claimed they saw the passenger side door of the Airstream open, and Monika’s arm hanging on the door after the wind caused the door to swing ajar.
The incident happened in front of her daughter and her boyfriend, police said.
When emergency personnel arrived, she was transported to Samaritan Medical Center where she died.
Police continue to investigate the horrifying incident.
'I haven't dealt a lot with these type of incidents. We are still trying to determine how and why the door opened,' Keller said.
On Monday, no one answered the door at the Woroniecki residence. Antipas, who lives next door to the family, was devastated having no idea it was neighbor and just learned about it when a media outlet told her of the tragedy.
Antipas said they would look after each other’s houses when they travel and said she had a key to their home.
‘They just left the other day,' she recalled. 'They got an Airstream a couple of months ago and they’ve been taking little trips. I watch their house for them when they are gone, and they do the same for me.’
She said the day they were leaving, her husband was walking the dog and saw Monika and her husband Robert getting their truck and Airstream ready. They told them that they were going upstate to watch the solar eclipse and meet their daughter.
Richard, a kidney doctor at Stonybrook, and Monika had moved into the home on Dogwood Drive in Stonybrook six or seven years ago.
She said that the couple were outdoorsy and have three grown daughters who are all very bright. One lives in Virginia with her family, another is a musician who lives in New York, and the third daughter is studying medicine in Arizona and is set to get married this summer.
She told DailyMail.com she remembered the day Richard drove the airstream home.
‘It was shiny, she recalled. 'They were so excited to get it.'
Maria said that the last time she saw Monika was the day before she left. She was walking her dogs and they waved to each other.
Utterly devastated, she repeated: ‘I can’t believe something like that happened. It’s so tragic.'
Witnesses behind the Airstream claimed they saw the passenger side door of the Airstream open, and Monika’s arm hanging on the door after the wind caused the door to swing ajar
New York State Police continue to investigate the incident that claimed Woroniecki's life
Woroniecka has three daughters including Alexandra (left) and Helena (right), who was with her on the trip
It is illegal to tow passengers in an Airstream in New York State, in addition to being something the company warns against.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Airstream about the tragedy.
'You cannot tow an Airstream with people inside,' reads the company's website. 'Your travel trailer is not designed to carry passengers when in motion. All passengers should travel in your tow vehicle or a secondary vehicle until you are at your destination.'
A 2022 post to the Airstream website also notes that the trailer 'does not have seat belts, there, it is not designed to carry passengers.'
The scene on State Route 12E near Watertown, New York, on Saturday afternoon
The family appear to have been riding in a New 2024 Airstream Bambi 16RB
The thoughtfully-designed relatively small camper is sixteen feet in length and sleeps four
The cost of the brand new model begins at $60,400
In New York State, it is illegal to ride in a non-fifth wheel trailer while it's in motion. The manufacturers of Airstream also warn against riding in the campervan while it is in motion
Woroniecka was a children's allergy and immunology specialist at Stony Brook Medicine, which she practiced for more than 20 years.
She treated children with food, environmental, medications, and bee stings allergies, childhood asthma and skin conditions like eczema and hives.
'Dr. Woroniecka likes to travel, hike, exercise, and spend time with family and friends,' her work profile read.
She grew up in Poland and drew in Polish-speaking patients from around the region, it added.
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