A well-respected pediatrician from New York died when she fell out of the passenger door of the family's Airstream trailer while traveling to watch the eclipse, authorities said.
Monika Woroniecka, 58, had stopped at a gas station to get ice cream with her family on their way to their Airbnb in Cape Vincent, New York, before passing away.
Woroniecka and her daughter Helena decided to spend the last 20 minutes of their trip in the $130,000 Airstream camper.
Woroniecka was hurled from the Airstream while attempting to secure the passenger side of the trailer in front of her family.
Helena told the New York Post that her mother's death was a "pure accident," and the trailer's design had a "significant safety oversight" because the door's back hinge allowed it to open against the wind.
She told the outlet, "The doors on the Airstream open the opposite way you would expect."
Furthermore, she added that it seemed like a significant oversight, and the only reason they opened it that way was to protect the trailer's awning.
Woroniecka's husband, Robert Woroniecka, 59, was driving the couple's 2019 gray Ram pickup truck west on Route 12 E in Brownville when the tragic event occurred around 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Witnesses behind the Airstream said they saw Woroniecka's arm hanging on the open passenger side door after the wind caused it to swing ajar.
On Tuesday, Airstream said that the family should not have been in the back of the caravan while it was being towed.
