Tourist Struck, Injured By Hammock That Blew Off Lower Manhattan Terrace

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police say a woman was struck by a hammock that blew off a fifth floor terrace in Tribeca Tuesday afternoon.

The 48-year-old was struck after the large hammock on a wooden stand fell fifty feet from the TriBeCa House residential building near the corner of Church Street and Park Place around 5 p.m, according to the FDNY.

Photos from the scene show the partially collapsed hammock nearby as the woman is tended to by medics.

Investigators say the woman was a tourist from the United Kingdom who was walking with her husband when she was struck by the falling hammock. Several New Yorkers rushed to their aid.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority worker Dan Gallagher told CBS2's Tony Aiello he had just walked past that very spot.

"Three seconds earlier that would have been me," he said. "She looked like she was in shock, just laying there, eyes batting, and no words. She was trying to move. I called an ambulance immediately."

"You heard a loud, big bang," one witness said. "Not just your typical bang, but a big boom. You think, happening near the World Trade Center you have to be cautious. It looked like either her shoulders or her elbows, something was hurt. Like I said, she wasn't bleeding."

Medics rushed her to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue in serious, but stable condition where she's currently recovering from head injuries.

Police say they have not discovered any criminality and are treating the incident as an accident.

"Look at the size of that thing," Gallagher said, pointing to the hammock. "It's got too be 12 feet long."

The New York City Buildings Department regularly issues high wind warnings, instructing building owners to secure loose items. No warning was issued Tuesday.

Similarly, the National Weather Service did not issue any high wind advisories either.