Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Woman Killed By Flying Plywood Was Buried In Her Wedding Gown
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 23, 2015
Modified Mar 23, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 23, 2015
Modified Mar 23, 2015
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The 37-year-old woman who was killed by a huge piece of plywood that flew off a Greenwich Village condo conversion was laid to rest over the weekend. Tina Nguyen, who was to be married this summer, was buried in her wedding gown, according to the Daily News.
Nguyen had been walking on West 12th Street near 6th Avenue last Tuesday when a four-foot by eight-foot piece of plywood came loose from The Greenwich Lane development and slammed her into a brick wall. She was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital. Work was halted at the luxury condo site.
She was to be married in July to Alejando Beitler. The News reported from her funeral in Philadelphia: "Nguyen’s bridesmaids attended the funeral in the floor-length yellow gowns they had planned to wear to her July wedding. They all sported red shoes, in honor of their friend’s Vietnamese roots... Beitler, spoke briefly at the service inside St. Thomas Aquinas Church to express his love for Nguyen. Beitler, who proposed to his fiancee atop the Eiffel Tower, expressed his love for Tina."
Beitler and the groomsmen also appeared to be wearing their wedding suits. The fiancé had issued a statement after Nguyen's death saying, "She always saw the best in everyone. She was always reminding me to see the same. We were together for five of the best years of our lives. We planned to be married in July of this year. The family and I have decided to bury her in Philadelphia. This is the most devastating loss. She was the woman of my dreams. I hope people will remember her by seeing the best in one another and treating each other with true kindness."
The Post reports that Nguyen is the first pedestrian to be killed by falling construction debris in six years, but "in the past five years, 59 people have been struck by falling debris from New York City construction sites. And the numbers are on the rise: 27 percent of those pedestrians were victimized between January and September of last year.... The 16 people injured in the first nine months of 2014 included two people struck by falling glass on West 57th Street in July; one driver who was injured when four cars — including a taxi — were hit by a plank that dropped from the roof of a building on East 88th Street; and two pedestrians splashed with concrete while walking down Broadway in Tribeca."
Tagged
construction debris
plywood
Tina Nguyen
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NJ reports first West Nile Virus death of the year
While the national West Nile Virus trend has slowed down, activity in the Garden State has picked up.
By
Michael Sol Warren
Published Oct 4, 2026 at 11:03 a.m. ET
NY's prison system is in crisis. It's driving staff away from the job.
The state is currently struggling with a 56% vacancy rate among prison workers.
By
Emily Russell
News
NY's prison system is in crisis. It's driving staff away from the job.
The state is currently struggling with a 56% vacancy rate among prison workers.
By
Emily Russell
NYPD searching for suspect after fatal stabbing in Queens
By
Ben Feuerherd
NYPD: 2 suspects in off-duty officer stabbing tried to rob victim
By
Jill Webb
Astoria-born Chip City announces sudden closure days after former CEO sues
By
Catalina Gonella
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .