A severe nor’easter battering the Tri-State area on Sunday turned deadly when a 76-year-old woman was struck and killed by a detached solar panel in Brooklyn, authorities confirmed. The violent winds, which reached gusts over 40 mph, tore a large panel from a parking lot canopy and sent it flying roughly 20 feet through the air before it hit the victim.
The incident happened at approximately 10:30 a.m. near Ocean Parkway and West Brighton Beach Avenue in Coney Island. Surveillance footage from nearby buildings captured the terrifying moment when the solar panel broke loose and came crashing down on the woman, identified as Lyudmila Braun, as she walked along the sidewalk.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes as residents ran to help before emergency responders arrived. Braun was rushed to a nearby hospital but later pronounced dead.
Her grieving husband and son said they were “devastated and heartbroken,” calling the tragedy something that “should never happen again.”
Local residents expressed shock that a piece of renewable energy equipment could become so deadly in high winds. “It’s terrifying,” said nearby resident Adam Rubenstein. “My uncle lives in this building — it could’ve been anyone walking by.”
The accident has raised immediate safety concerns about recently installed solar infrastructure across the city as inspectors move in to determine what went wrong.