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Two NYC teens dead in Brooklyn subway surfing incident, officials said
By
Paige Oamek
Published Oct 4, 2025
Modified Oct 4, 2025
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By
Paige Oamek
Published Oct 4, 2025
Modified Oct 4, 2025
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Two young teens died early Saturday morning in a subway surfing incident on the J train in Williamsburg, city and state officials said.
An NYPD spokesperson said officers responded to a call near the Marcy Avenue subway station just after 3:00 a.m. When they arrived, police said they found two girls, aged 12 and 13-years-old, unconscious and unresponsive. Emergency medical personnel pronounced them both dead at the scene, police said.
New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow, who's been waging a campaign against the deadly practice, urged parents and loved ones to talk to kids about the dangers of riding outside a train car.
“It’s heartbreaking that two young girls are gone because they somehow thought riding outside a subway train was an acceptable game," he said in a statement. "Parents, teachers, and friends need to be clear with loved ones: getting on top of a subway car isn’t 'surfing' — it’s suicide."
The investigation into the incident is ongoing and the identities of the girls have not yet been revealed until their families are notified.
The NYPD said this summer that drone surveillance technology has helped the department make 200 “rescues,” mostly of teenagers, from subway surfing incidents since November 2023.
In the past three years, the NYPD says there have been at least 16 deaths due to subway surfing, not counting Saturday's deaths.
Last year, Norma Nazario, a Manhattan mom, sued TikTok parent company ByteDance, Instagram parent company Meta, the MTA and the New York City Transit Authority after her son also fell between cars of a Brooklyn-bound J train while subway surfing.
She said she believes social media companies play a key role in spreading and boosting content that encourages teens to risk their lives subway surfing.
Crichlow offered condolences to the families of the victims.
"I’m thinking of both the grieving families, and transit workers who discovered these children, all of whom have been horribly shaken by this tragedy," he said.
This story has been updated with comment from the MTA.
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Paige Oamek
Paige Oamek is a reporter on Gothamist & WNYC's day-of general assignment desk.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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