Horror struck New York City subway lines after a 14-year-old boy fell from a car while illegally surfing on top of it, police said.
He was riding on a northbound train on the J/M lines around 3.40pm on Monday when he stumbled off the car's roof as it pulled into Hewes Street station in Williamsburg, according to the NYPD.
The trains link Manhattan to Brooklyn and were all stopped after the boy plummeted onto the middle track of the rail line, authorities said.
Paramedics rushed to the scene and transported the unidentified teenager to Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital, where he remains in critical condition, an NYPD spokesperson told the Daily Mail.
'There are no arrests at this time, and the investigation remains ongoing,' they added.
The stunt, which sees people climb atop fast-moving subway cars, is something that has been glorified on social media and in video games in recent years.
In May, two teenagers were struck after they subway surfed atop a J train, fell off, and were struck over the Williamsburg Bridge, which has many low-hanging beams.
Akhai Butler, 14, died in the tragedy, while another person, 18, was left with serious injuries.
A 14-year-old boy is in critical condition after he fell from a northbound train on the J/M lines around 3.40pm on Monday during a dangerous subway surfing stunt
Akhai Butler (pictured), 14, died in May after he participated in the horrifying trend. Another person, 18, was left with serious injuries as well
'He was a good kid, you know. He was into sports, basketball trophies. He was good at swimming,' Butler's uncle, Andre Dwayne, told Spectrum News in June.
'You know, I think he just got caught up with the wrong crowd, doing the wrong things, following the social media trends that kids are into.'
Read More
Girl aged 12 seen subway surfing days before she and friend, 13, met violent end at 3:10am
Last October, two teenage girls, Zemfira Mukhtarov, 12, and Ebba Morina, 13, were found dead on top of a J train as it pulled into the Marcy Avenue station in Brooklyn.
Both of them died from brain trauma after striking a beam.
Before her death, Mukhtarov would post about the dangerous adventures on TikTok.
In 2023, Zachary Nazario, 15, was killed while riding on top of a train going over the bridge.
He was struck by a beam while turning to look back at his girlfriend.
MTA officials have pleaded with parents, begging them to warn their children against subway surfing.
However, the Big Apple has been plagued by the deadly trend for years after it went viral on social media.
Five died in 2022 and 2023 while subway surfing. Six to seven lost their lives in 2024, and at least five to seven people died the following year.
Zemfira Mukhtarov (left), 12, was seen walking atop a beam as an incoming subway train zoomed past her in footage captured weeks before her death. Ebba Morina (right), 13, was also found dead on top of a J train in Brooklyn. She is pictured at an MTA station on the Upper East Side
A total of 13 people have died this year, according to PIX11 News.
Following Butler's death in May, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani issued a statement, calling it a 'preventable tragedy.'
'No family should get a phone call like that,' he wrote on X. 'Subway surfing is deadly. My heart breaks for the families of these young people.'
NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow also released a statement following the deadly incident, calling it 'heartbreaking.'
'This is heartbreaking and knowing that riding outside trains is going to end tragically, it's incomprehensible - and pains me as a parent-that it continues to happen,' he said.
'I'm imploring families, friends, teachers, and others coming into contact with teens engaging in these suicidal stunts to get them to stop.'
Source link
