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Teenager dies after subway surfing in Brooklyn: MTA
By
Charles Lane
Published Jan 12, 2024
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Gary Hershorn / Corbis via Getty Images
By
Charles Lane
Published Jan 12, 2024
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A teenage boy died after surfing atop a southbound F train in Brooklyn on Friday, according to the MTA.
The incident happened just after 2 p.m. near Avenue N and McDonald Avenue, along the border between Mapleton and Midwood, police said.
In a statement Friday evening, New York City Transit President Richard Davey called the incident “heartbreaking” and warned passengers to stay inside subway cars, pointing to an anti-subway surfing campaign the MTA and state and local officials launched last September.
“Subway surfing kills,” Davey said. “Another innocent life has been lost, and it should not happen. … [R]iding on top of subway trains is reckless, dumb, and the consequences can be lethal.”
The city's last confirmed subway riding death happened Dec. 4, 2023, the MTA said.
Witnesses to Friday’s incident told police they saw the boy fall from the top of the train and land on the street. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene.
Neither the boy’s name nor age has been released, pending notification of his family.
The NYPD has special after-school patrols along the elevated sections of the J, Z and 7 lines, and the F line has not previously been popular for subway surfing, according to the MTA. Since last September, police have prevented an average of 11 people per month — mostly young people — from subway surfing.
“There are announcements — recorded by students — digital signs, and police officers in subway stations, and messaging in schools to deter it,” Davey noted in his statement. “Again, it pains me, but I implore parents to talk with their children and teachers to speak with their students.”
In part at the MTA's urging, social media companies have removed more than 10,000 subway surfing photos and videos, the transit authority said.
On Friday, police were also investigating the death of a woman who was fatally struck by a 1 train at the WTC Cortlandt station in Lower Manhattan around 7 p.m. Thursday. No criminality was suspected, according to the NYPD.
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Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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