A young boy’s life was cut short on Monday morning, September 16, 2024 in Brooklyn, New York City when a dangerous subway stunt went wrong. The incident, near the 4th Avenue and 9th Street F/G station in the neighborhood of Park Slope, has once again brought attention to the perilous practice of “subway surfing” and its potentially deadly consequences.
At approximately 10:15 a.m., emergency officials responded to a call about an unconscious person at the subway station. Upon arrival, they discovered the body of an 11-year-old boy who had fallen while attempting to ride on the outside of a moving train. A press release stated: “Authorities responding to a call near the 4th Avenue and 9th Street F/G station in Park Slope around 10:15 a.m. found the boy dead at the scene. It wasn’t immediately clear how he fell.”
The boy’s identity has not been released to the public, pending notification of his family. Details surrounding the exact circumstances of his fall remain unclear as investigators work to piece together the events leading up to the tragedy.
The incident caused significant disruptions to subway service in the area. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) reported that F trains ran with heavy delays, while G train service was limited. Commuters were advised to check the MTA website for the latest status updates.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams expressed his sorrow in a tweet, calling it heartbreaking to hear of yet another life lost to subway surfing. He also highlighted the city’s program to deter children and adolescents from engaging in dangerous activity.
In a statement, interim NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow described the death as a painful reminder that riding outside trains is not a game and the subway is not a platform for social media content. The MTA has been collaborating with social media companies to take down videos that depict subway surfing.
The MTA’s analysis found that the number of videos featuring young people riding atop subway trains surged by 160% between 2019 and 2022, highlighting the ongoing challenge of combating this trend in the age of social media.
This latest fatality adds to a growing list of subway surfing-related deaths in New York City. The dangerous activity, which can involve riding on top of subway cars, between them, or hanging from their sides, has seen a troubling rise in popularity in recent years.
According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), as of August, 137 subway surfing incidents had been reported in 2024, surpassing the 133 incidents recorded for all of 2023. Officials are partly attributing the surge to social media trends glorifying the risky behavior.
Earlier in the year, in January 2024, 14-year-old Alam Reyes died after falling while surfing a Coney Island-bound F train. In June, 13-year-old Geradm Ashitey lost his life after falling from a northbound No. 6 train in the Bronx.
The following month, in July, 15-year-old Anthony Bhagwandeen was found deceased with a severe head injury at the Beach 90th St. station elevated tracks in Rockaway, Queens, New York City, which police believe was due to subway surfing.
The NYPD has deployed additional officers to stations known as hotspots for this activity, hoping to deter potential risk-takers.
