For many in the path of the solar eclipse that occurred on April 8, 2024, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience a true wonder of nature. Thousands of spectators flocked to cities and towns in the path of totality to get a glance as the moon passed the sun. Sadly, for one New York family, the day will be shrouded in sadness as they lost a loving wife and mother in a freak accident leading up to the event.
Monika Woroniecka, 58, and her husband, Robert, had recently purchased an Airstream trailer, and they traveled from Long Island to upstate New York on April 6 with their daughter, Helena, to view the eclipse. Tragically, during the last leg of their trip, Monika Woroniecka, who was inside the moving Airstream, apparently opened one of the doors, fell out, and died. The accident has left the family and loved ones of the well-known pediatrician devastated.
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The family was traveling to see the eclipse.
According to the New York Post, the family was headed to an Airbnb in Cape Vincent from Long Island when they decided to stop for ice cream. At the time, the couple and their daughter were all riding in a 2019 Dodge Ram truck. They were reportedly 20 minutes from their destination when Monika Woroniecka and her daughter decided to ride in the trailer for the last leg of the trip. Sadly, this decision proved to be deadly.
Witnesses saw the entire accident unfold.
The family was traveling on State Route 12E near Brownville when the Airstream door opened, according to a news release from the New York State Police.
“Witnesses behind the Airstream claimed they saw the passenger side door of the Airstream open, Monika Woroniecka's arm hanging on the door after the wind caused the door to swing open, causing her to be thrown from the Airstream," the release reads. "Monika subsequently struck her head on the shoulder of the roadway. Cape Vincent Ambulance transported Monika to Samaritan Medical Center’s Emergency Room where she succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced deceased.”
Monika Woroniecka loved the family’s Airstream.
Her daughter, Helena Woroniecka, told the Post her mother loved the Airstream and had nicknamed it “Nebula.” She was so smitten with the trailer she would sometimes sleep inside it while it was parked on the family’s driveway.
The well-known pediatrician and married mother of three hoped to retire early and travel with her husband in the Airstream. “She loved that trailer so much and poured her soul into it,” Helena Woroniecka told the Post.
The trip was also designed for a bit of nostalgia.
Helena Woroniecka told the Post that the family was visiting the area for the first time since she was a child living in Buffalo.
“This trip was the first time they would be back in that town, and she was excited to see their old apartment and the old town, and it so happens that she died in the same hospital I happened to be born in,” she said.
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Sadly, the daughter watched her mother die.
Helena Woroniecka said her mom got up to secure the trailer door and fell out. The family had been driving for a long time and thought it would be OK to move to the trailer.
“Sure, maybe Airstream doesn’t advise traveling inside the trailer. But we thought maybe that the last 20 minutes of an eight-hour drive on very quiet and slow country roads would be fine,” she told the Post.
“And it’s perfectly legal to do so in some states. It was just a crazy accident,” she said.
Per the Airstream website, “You cannot tow an Airstream with people inside. 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.”
