BY LINCOLN ANDERSON | A woman was killed on W. 12th St. near Seventh Ave. on Tuesday around 6 p.m. after she was struck by a piece of plywood that flew off the construction project at the former St. Vincent’s Hospital site.
The woman was identified as Trang Thuy “Tina” Nguyen, 37. It was reported that she was talking on her cell phone when she was hit by a 4-foot-by-8-foot piece of construction fence that blew loose in nearly 40-mile-per-hour winds. The piece of wood slammed her against a building, and she hit her head against the wall. She was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.
Nguyen worked at a realty company on Park Ave. in the E. 50s. She was engaged and planned to marry in four months.
The Department of Buildings has issued a full stop-work order, plus a violation to safeguard the site.
The hospital closed in 2010 and its former campus is being redeveloped into high-end residential condos.
According to D.O.B. records, someone filed a complaint against the project in August 2014, saying debris had fallen off it and struck someone in the head.
The Daily News reported that Rudin Management, the property’s owner, along with Turner Construction and other contractors, have been hit with 11 serious code violations since 2012, including complaints about falling debris.
Turner issued a statement, pledging to ensure the site’s future safety.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this very difficult time,” the statement said. “Safety on and around our job sites is always our number one priority.”
State Senator Brad Hoylman said, “I’m angry and sickened by the death of a passerby near the luxury condominium development at the site of the former St. Vincent’s Hospital. The proximity of this construction site to 800 elementary students at a local public school on the block and thousands of residents and workers in the area makes this a matter of the utmost importance. I’m grateful to the Department of Buildings for swiftly issuing a stop-work order and urging a thorough investigation of the tragic circumstances of this accident to ensure the safety of the public and the workers on the construction site.”
Assemblymember Deborah Glick said, “I am deeply saddened by the news that a pedestrian was killed as a result of unsecured construction fencing at the Rudin luxury housing development on W. 12th St. yesterday evening. This is particularly troubling because it is so close to an elementary school where students walk in view of the construction site.
“However, I am pleased that the Department of Buildings issued a stop-work order and an Environmental Control Board notice of violation for ‘failure to safeguard,’ as this is the only appropriate response. A total stop-work order must remain in effect until we can be certain that the site will be properly monitored and operated in order to ensure the safety of pedestrians and residents.”
Although the new Lenox Hill HealthPlex — which features a stand-alone emergency room — is right across Seventh Ave. from where Nguyen was thrown against the wall, she wasn’t brought there. Dr. Eric Cruzen, the HealthPlex’s emergency medical director, explained that this was a decision by the responding medics, who felt she needed to go to a designated trauma center.
“When EMS providers assess a patient at the scene of an accident they determine whether or not the patient’s injuries require the specialized services only available at a trauma center,” Cruzen said. “Bellevue Hospital is the only trauma center in the immediate area.”
Added Barbara Osborn, a spokesperson for the HealthPlex, “Since this was a trauma patient, they transferred her to the closest Level 1 trauma center, which was Bellevue.”
The former St. Vincent’s Hospital was a Level 1 trauma center. But the HealthPlex, which is located in the former St. Vincent’s O’Toole Building, is not.
