Elderly woman in NYC is killed by a solar panel that flew off a building in storms and hit her in the head

A grieving husband said he was “destroyed” after a 76-year-old woman was killed by a falling 7-foot solar panel in New York City this weekend.

The woman, identified as Lyudmila Braun, was found unresponsive around 10:30 a.m. Sunday in the Coney Island area of Brooklyn, according to police.

Investigators discovered that a solar panel had blown off a nearby parking lot after nor’easter winds and struck Braun in her head. She was transported to Lutheran Hospital, where she later died.

Video obtained by CBS News shows the tragic moment that the panel, which authorities says traveled 20 foot, fatally collided with the unsuspecting Braun.

She was hit near one of the entrances to the aboveground Ocean Parkway subway station.

Her heartbroken husband spoke to CBS News in the wake of her tragic death.

"We just hope that it doesn't happen to anybody else again. That's the most important thing. Safety first," he told the broadcaster. "We're destroyed right now. We're at a loss for words."

The Buildings Department worked with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to close the entrance to the subway station while the nor’easter tore through the region.

"Our inspectors observed that a 41” x 87” solar panel had become disconnected from the steel carport structure which is standing overhead the outdoor parking lot," city inspectors told NBC News. "The detached panel was taken by the wind and blown approximately 20 feet away where it fatally struck a pedestrian at an adjacent walkway."

The National Weather Service has issued several advisories warning of strong winds and coastal flooding after the first nor’easter of the season this week.

A wind advisory was in effect the day of the solar panel incident. The city's Parks Department has already received at least 265 reports of downed trees, NBC reports.

The storm has been causing chaos, with hundreds of flight canceled and thousands more delayed across the East Coast.

Heavy rainfall was experienced from Virginia to Maine, with more than 40,000 customers across New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts and North Caroline reporting power outages.