A 19-year-old man playing with a remote control helicopter in Brooklyn lost control of it, sliced off the top of his own head and died Thursday afternoon, law enforcement officials said.
The helicopter enthusiast, identified by officials as Roman Pirozek Jr., and his father were in Calvert Vaux Park at Shore Parkway and Bay 44th Street in Gravesend.
Pirozek also sheared off part of his shoulder, officials said.
Witnesses told detectives Pirozek was performing a trick with the model helicopter when something went wrong, according to law enforcement officials.
The model helicopter was worth about $2,000.
Sources said friends of the victim told investigators he often performed risky tricks with model helicopters.
Pirozek's neighbors in Woodhaven, Queens said he worked at Kennedy Airport and was a quiet but "really good kid." They said he and his father flew model helicopters almost every weekend.
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Pirozek's social media accounts were filled with references to his hobby of flying remote control helicopters. On Aug. 25, he wrote on his Facebook page, "Great day for flying, the new frame brace is working great, breaking in some new packs I just got, they are the best that I have flown so far and loving them."
Pirozek graduated in 2012 from the High School for Construction, Engineering and Architecture in Queens, according to his Facebook page.
-- Brynn Gingras contributed to this report.
