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Teenage girl is 6th person to die subway surfing in NYC this year: ‘This is happening a lot'
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Oct 28, 2024
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By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Oct 28, 2024
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At the elevated subway platform at 111th Street in Corona, Queens, the now-familiar MTA ad plays through the speakers every few minutes: “Don’t lose your life. Ride inside, stay alive.”
But the warning still doesn’t seem to be discouraging some people from riding on top of subway cars and risking their lives.
Just hours after police said a 13-year-old girl died and another girl was critically injured while subway surfing at the station on Sunday night, members of a construction crew working nearby said they spotted several young people doing the same exact thing.
A video that one of the workers shared with Gothamist shows a boy who appears to be a teenager sitting on top of a subway car around 8:30 a.m. on Monday, facing backward and wearing a backpack as the train flies past the station, which is served by the 7 line. And in a photo taken an hour earlier, at least one person can be seen standing atop a train as it approaches the station.
“There was three kids on the train. One guy was videotaping,” said construction worker Paul Geary. “It’s crazy. When are they gonna stop?”
The 13-year-old girl is the sixth person to die in a subway surfing incident so far this year, according to transit officials. Five people had died in the same period last year.
In interviews on Monday, commuters at the 111th Street station expressed dismay that people continue to engage in the risky stunt. It’s happening even as city officials and others have sought to prevent subway surfing, including through the MTA’s “Ride Inside, Stay Alive” campaign, attempts to strip subway surfing videos from social media, an exhibit featuring a subway surfer’s last moments, and stepped-up enforcement by the NYPD, which has reported using drones to help arrest alleged subway surfers.
“Why would you want to stand on top of a train and ride?” said Kyae Boyd, who was waiting for the 7 train last night at the 103rd Street station and saw it stop down the track after the teen fell. “That’s like standing on top of an airplane. Are you gonna make it? Nope.”
He called for schools to offer more education about the dangers of subway surfing.
Miguel Degante, 17, said his cousin was killed in a subway surfing incident in 2022.
“It was shocking really, but not surprising because I’ve seen a lot of people already doing this, and a lot of people died,” he said. “They were just really following what the internet was showing. They really had no motivation but just doing it for fun.”
Norma Navarro, who was waiting for the 7 train to Manhattan, said a child who attends the same school as her children recently died from subway surfing.
“Parents have to be more aware of what their teens are doing in the streets and talk to them, because this is happening a lot,” she said in Spanish. “They risk their life, and they still have such a big future — and then it’s over.”
In a statement posted on social media, Mayor Eric Adams said he was "heartbroken to hear that subway surfing — and the pursuit of social media clout — has stolen another life."
"We are doing everything we can to raise awareness against this dangerous trend, but we need all New Yorkers — and our social media companies — to do their part, too," he said. "No post is worth your future."
Police said the injured teen was being treated in critical condition at Elmhurst Hospital. They have not released the identity of the girl who fell to her death.
Tagged
new york city
queens
public safety
transportation
Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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