A devastating and deeply tragic reminder of just how dangerous these storms can be played out in Brooklyn this weekend. Amid the powerful Nor’easter battering the East Coast, a 76-year-old woman was killed by a flying solar panel—ripped loose by the storm’s intense winds and hurled nearly 20 feet—striking her on a walkway near the Ocean Parkway Q train station.
The victim, Lyudmila Braun, a longtime Brooklyn resident, was found unconscious and unresponsive by emergency personnel Sunday afternoon. Officials confirmed that she had been fatally struck by a 41″ x 87″ solar panel that had detached from a steel carport structure in a nearby parking lot at 3000 Ocean Parkway.
According to inspectors from the NYC Department of Buildings, the panel was lifted by wind gusts and propelled across a walkway, where it hit Braun as she passed by. Despite swift emergency response, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
In response, the Department of Buildings issued a Partial Vacate Order for the area under the solar structure and launched an immediate investigation. The agency is now examining whether the installation met safety requirements and whether structural defects or improper anchoring contributed to the deadly failure.
When severe weather hits, NYC responds.
Working closely with @nycemergencymgt, @FDNY, @NYPDnews & other partner agencies, DOB inspectors have been out in the field in all five boroughs, responding to weather-related incidents and conducting safety inspections during the storm. pic.twitter.com/xqSnzq6xOa
— Department of Buildings (@NYC_Buildings) October 13, 2025
Compounding the tragedy is the setting: a public sidewalk just outside a major MTA transit station entrance, one that had already been temporarily closed due to high winds. It’s the kind of scenario no one plans for—and yet, under storm conditions like this, it’s a growing reality.
The Nor’easter continues to wreak havoc across the tri-state area. In addition to torrential rain and coastal flooding, high wind gusts—some topping 45 mph—have downed trees, power lines, and damaged homes from Brooklyn to West Orange. In Queens, a tree fell onto a house near 241st Street. In New Jersey, live wires were reported down in Bloomfield and West Orange. Train service on NJ Transit lines has been disrupted, and coastal flood warnings remain in place.
But amid the power outages and transportation delays, this loss of life stands as the storm’s darkest moment—a deadly reminder that in the face of extreme weather, even everyday infrastructure can become lethal.
Solar energy is often praised as the future—a clean, renewable solution to modern power demands. But this incident throws a spotlight on a critical reality: as these systems become more widespread, structural integrity and safety compliance must be non-negotiable—especially in regions increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather.
Lyudmila Braun wasn’t taking risks. She wasn’t in a car, or by the sea, or climbing onto a damaged roof. She was simply walking through her neighborhood—on a public path—when a storm turned an unsecured solar panel into a projectile.
As the investigation continues, the questions will turn toward accountability. Was this a freak occurrence, or a failure in inspection, construction, or code enforcement? In either case, the consequences are irreversible.
