The Long Island doctor killed when she flew out of a moving Airstream trailer had been traveling with family to watch the eclipse — and her daughter witnessed the horror, a neighbor and cops said Monday.
Well-respected pediatrician Monika Woroniecka — a 58-year-old married mom of three and allergy and immunology specialist with Stony Brook Medicine — was in the sleek silver 2024 trailer that she and her husband had just bought two months ago when the freak accident occurred on an upstate highway Saturday, a resident told The Post through tears.
“They were going upstate to watch the solar eclipse,” said the grief-stricken neighbor, who only gave her first name, Maria. “My husband saw them right before they left. He happened to talk to them, and [Woroniecka’s husband] Robert [said] they were going up with their daughter to see the total eclipse.
“Poor Robert. Poor kids,” she said, crying. “Really nice family, good neighbors — the best.”
Minutes before the tragedy, Woroniecka and daughter Helena had been riding with Robert in the family’s 2019 Ford Ram pickup truck, which Robert was driving while towing the Airstream behind it, state police told The Post on Monday.
The family, headed to an AirBnb in Cape Vincent, stopped at a Stewart’s gas station in upstate Brownville for ice cream, state police Sgt. Jack Keller said.
That’s when Woroniecki and Helena — who is set to get married this year — decided to ride in the trailer for the last 20 minutes of their trip.
“According to Helena’s accounts, she was lying on the bed located in the rear of the camper,” Keller said. “Helena recalls that her mother was trying to secure the passenger side door of the camper and subsequently gets thrown from the Airstream.”
State troopers said motorists who witnessed the tragic 3 p.m. tumble recounted the passenger door of the trailer swing open on State Route 12K in Watertown, with the doctor seen still clutching the door handle.
She was thrown to the pavement, striking her head on the shoulder, police said.
Woroniecka was rushed to Samaritan Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
“They moved here about four, five years ago,” Maria told The Post of the Stony Brook family. “They just brought the Airstream two months ago. [Woroniecki] was so sweet. Really nice person — really nice.
“They have three daughters,” she added of the couple. “One of them is a musician. She was going to school in the city. The oldest daughter lives in Virginia. The other one is studying to be a doctor in Arizona, and she’s getting married this year. Oh God! I can’t believe this.”
Maria said the daughter studying music would sit outside and play the violin, to the delight of neighbors. The daughter is enrolled at Julliard, according to social media posts.
“They were planning trips,” she said of the couple. “They were planning to go to the daughter’s wedding in Arizona.”
The victim worked at Stony Brook Medicine since the early 2000s, according to her medical profile.
“She enjoys working with children and their families and developing a long-term relationship with families while guiding them through chronic allergy-related conditions,” the profile said. “Dr. Woroniecka’s native language is Polish [and] draws Polish-speaking families from far distances.
“Dr. Woroniecka likes to travel, hike, exercise, and spend time with family and friends,” the post adds.