Fatally Injured Teenager Is Discovered on Top of a N.Y.C. Subway Car

New York Times

04-07-2025

The deadly trend among New York City youth of riding on top of speeding trains, known as subway surfing, may have claimed another victim on Friday.
An unresponsive and injured boy, 15, was found on the roof of a 7 train at Queensboro Plaza, in Queens, around 2:45 a.m., according to the police. The authorities transported him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The cause of death is still under investigation, the police said. But it appeared to be a failed attempt at the dangerous, thrill-seeking practice of train surfing, which has plagued the city for almost as long as there has been a subway system.
'This was as avoidable as it is tragic,' said Demetrius Crichlow, the president of New York City Transit, the division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that oversees the subway system. 'I implore family, friends, teachers and anyone else who knows children that are even thinking about riding outside subway cars to persuade them it's not some video game — it's suicidal.'
In recent years, the number of fatalities linked to the practice has climbed as a new generation of daredevils has tried its luck, spurred on by videos of subway surfers on social media, transit and law enforcement officials have said.
The M.T.A. has been working with social media platforms, including Instagram and TikTok, to remove subway surfing footage. As of mid-June, more than 1,800 videos had been taken down, according to a news release from the authority last month.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.