Pediatrician on way to see solar eclipse dies after falling out of Airstream: Reports

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USA Today
By Anthony Robledo
8 April 2024

A renowned pediatrician died after falling out of her Airstream camper on a New York highway, reportedly while she on her way to watch the total solar eclipse with her family on Monday.

Dr. Monika Woroniecka, 58, fell out of the 2024 Gray Airstream that was being lifted by a pick-up truck that her husband was driving, according to New York State Police. The accident occurred Saturday afternoon on Route 12E in Jefferson County in the northern part of the state.

(more)
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2024/04/08/doctor-dies-falling-out-of-trailer-home-new-york/73256097007/

[mountaineer]

The family blame Airstream for a "safety oversight"  because its door opened inward as opposed to outward 'against the wind.'”

However:

... Officials at Airstream, the trailer’s manufacturer, said in a statement this week that their products “are not designed to carry passengers while in motion.”

New York state law also prohibits anyone from riding inside a trailer while it is being pulled by a separate vehicle.

[Wingnut]

The family blame Airstream for a "safety oversight"  because its door opened inward as opposed to outward 'against the wind.'”

However:

Stupid people are we have warning labels on everything from Pizza boxes (warning: Do not eat the box) to toilet paper (external use olny)..

[mountaineer]

Stupid people are we have warning labels on everything from Pizza boxes (warning: Do not eat the box) to toilet paper (external use olny)..

Do not drink battery acid.
This woman was, by all reports, very familiar with her Airstream trailer, but doesn't seem to have read the owner's manual, where it says not to ride in it while it's being towed.

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Do not drink battery acid.
This woman was, by all reports, very familiar with her Airstream trailer, but doesn't seem to have read the owner's manual, where it says not to ride in it while it's being towed.

How does that apply to the door blowing off? Was Airstream 'expecting' this to happen?

[GtHawk]

Do not drink battery acid.
This woman was, by all reports, very familiar with her Airstream trailer, but doesn't seem to have read the owner's manual, where it says not to ride in it while it's being towed.

I was actually surprised by how many states it is legal to ride in a travel trailer(not New York).
Arizona
California (fifth wheels only)
District of Columbia
Idaho
Indiana
Iowa
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana (fifth wheels only)
Nebraska
New Jersey
New York (fifth wheels only)
North Carolina
North Dakota (fifth wheels only)
Oklahoma
Oregon (fifth wheels only)
Pennsylvania (fifth wheels only)
South Dakota (fifth wheels only)
Tennessee
West Virginia
Wisconsin (fifth wheels only)

[mountaineer]

From the NY Post story I cited above:

Helena called her mom’s death “pure accident” — although she suggested that the trailer’s design suffered from “a significant safety oversight” because its door opened inward as opposed to outward “against the wind.”...

Mom and daughter then decided to ride in the trailer during the final 20-minute leg of the family’s trip to an Airbnb in Cape Vincent, cops said. ... Helena was lying in the bed in the Airstream when her mom went to “secure” the door — and was still clutching the handle when the door suddenly flew open and hurled her onto the pavement, state police said. ...

“It was just a crazy accident,” she said.

Still, “The doors on the Airstream open the opposite way that you would expect. It doesn’t take an engineering degree to know that on any moving vehicle, whether a bus or a car or a trailer, doors should open against the wind, not towards it,” Helena told The Post. ...

I don't see where the door flew open on its own, considering she had the handle in her hand when it opened. An earlier story doesn't shed any more light on this.

[rustynail]

Contributory negligence?  I'm a 'professional' arrogance? 

[berdie]

Do not drink battery acid.
This woman was, by all reports, very familiar with her Airstream trailer, but doesn't seem to have read the owner's manual, where it says not to ride in it while it's being towed.

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I guess they never saw that old Lucy/Desi movie...The Long, Long Trailer.