The daughter of a Long Island pediatrician who died after falling from a moving Airstream believes the motorcade had a “major safety oversight.”
Monika Woroniecka, 58, had just stopped for ice cream at a gas station with her family on the way to their Airbnb in Cape Vincent, New York, before she fell to her death.
Woroniecka and her daughter Helena decided to travel the last 20 minutes of their trip in the $130,000 Airstream camper.
As Woroniecka attempted to secure the passenger side of the camper, she was thrown from the Airstream and died in front of her horrified family.
Talking with him New York PostHelena said that while her mother’s death was “purely an accident,” the trailer’s design suffered a “major safety oversight” because the door opened inwards rather than outwards “into the wind.”
Dr. Woroniecka was a pediatric allergy and immunology specialist at Stony Brook Medicine, where she practiced for more than 20 years.
Woroniecka appears here with her husband, Dr. Robert Woroniecka, and their two daughters, Alexandra and Helena.
As Woroniecka attempted to secure the passenger side of the camper, she was thrown from the $130,000 Airstream.
The family was on their way to see the eclipse and had just stopped for ice cream before the tragedy.
She told the outlet: ‘The Airstream doors open the opposite way to what you would expect.
«You don’t have to be an engineer to know that in any moving vehicle, be it a bus, a car or a trailer, the doors must open against the wind, not in its direction.
“That seems like a major safety oversight to me and it seems like the only reason they open that way is to protect the trailer awning.”
Woroniecka’s husband, Robert Woroniecka, 59, was driving the couple’s gray 2019 Ram pickup truck west around 3 p.m. Saturday on Route 12 E in Brownville when the tragedy occurred.
Witnesses behind the Airstream stated they saw the passenger side door of the Airstream open and Woroniecka’s arm hanging from the door after the wind caused the door to swing open.
When emergency personnel arrived, she was transported to Samaritan Medical Center where she died.
Helena also told the outlet that her mother had named the caravan Nebula, as it “represented adventure and exploration.”
She said: ‘He really loved that trailer and put his soul into it. She even went there to sleep at home when it rained and she put a lot of love into it.
‘She also loved to travel and explore, which is why my parents bought the trailer – they were planning to retire early and travel to national parks and spend time exploring together.
“My mom loved her family more than anything, so the fact that my sister and I came home so we could all go see the eclipse together, that was what she was most excited about, was spending time with everyone.”
Witnesses behind the Airstream stated they saw the passenger side door of the Airstream open and Woroniecka’s arm hanging from the door after the wind caused the door to swing open.
New York State Police continue to investigate incident that claimed Woroniecka’s life
Dr. Woroniecka has three daughters, including Alexandra (left) and Helena (right), who accompanied her on the trip.
In a statement to DailyMail.com on Tuesday, Airstream said the family should not have been in the back of the caravan while it was being towed.
“Airstream is saddened to learn of the death of Dr. Monika Woroniecka on April 6, 2024, and our deepest condolences go out to her family, friends and community,” a spokesperson said.
‘Airstream campers are not designed to carry passengers on the move. Safety protocol detailed in Airstream operating manuals and shared on the Airstream website warns owners that they cannot tow an Airstream with people inside.
“Many states prohibit transporting passengers in a travel trailer or fifth wheel, and we recommend owners check with their state Department of Motor Vehicles for updated regulations.”
Helena added: ‘This was an accident. Pure accident and there is no one to blame. This is no one’s fault.
‘Sure, maybe Airstream doesn’t recommend traveling inside the trailer. But we thought maybe the last 20 minutes of an eight-hour drive on very quiet, slow country roads would be okay.
And it’s perfectly legal to do so in some states. It was just a crazy accident. He was the most loving, generous, golden-hearted person I have ever met.
“She was always, always thinking about how to help someone, whether it was her family, her patients, her friends who had medical questions or strangers on the street.”
The scene on State Route 12E near Watertown, New York, on Saturday afternoon.
Neighbor Maria Antipas was left distraught outside her home in Woroniecka Stony Brook, New York, on Monday at the news of Woroniecka’s death.
‘I can’t believe something like this could happen. They are just a lovely family, good neighbors. “He’s a good person,” Antipas said.
Antipas said that they would look after each other’s houses when they traveled and said that she had the key to his house.
“They left the other day,” he recalled. ‘They got an Airstream a couple of months ago and have been taking little trips. I look after their house for them when they are away and they do the same for me.’
Richard, a kidney doctor in Stonybrook, and his wife had moved into the house on Dogwood Drive in Stonybrook six or seven years ago.
He said the couple were outdoorsy and have three grown daughters who are all very intelligent.
She told DailyMail.com that she remembered the day Richard drove the Airstream home. “He was brilliant,” she recalled. “They were very excited to get it.”
Maria said the last time she saw Woroniecka was the day before she left. She was walking her dogs and they said hello.
The family appears to have traveled in a new 2024 Airstream Bambi 16RB.
The relatively small, carefully designed camper is six feet long and sleeps four people.
The cost of the new model starts at $60,400
In New York State, it is illegal to ride in a trailer other than a fifth wheel while it is moving. Airstream manufacturers also warn against riding in the camper van while it’s on the move
Totally devastated, she repeated: ‘I can’t believe something like this happened. “It’s so tragic.”
It is illegal to tow passengers in an Airstream in New York state, as well as something the company warns against.
Dr. Woroniecka was a pediatric allergy and immunology specialist at Stony Brook Medicine, where she practiced for more than 20 years.
She treated children with food, environmental, medication and bee sting allergies, childhood asthma and skin conditions such as eczema and hives.
‘Dr. Woroniecka enjoys traveling, hiking, exercising, and spending time with family and friends,” his work profile said.
He grew up in Poland and attracted Polish-speaking patients from across the region, he added.