An 11-year-old boy died while "subway surfing" in Brooklyn, New York, on Monday, Sept. 16, the city's Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York Police Department said.
At 10:13 a.m., the victim, whose identity has not yet been disclosed, struck his head on an overhang at the Fourth Avenue/Ninth Street stop in Park Slope, Brooklyn, while attempting to ride on top of a Manhattan-bound F train, authorities said.
Victim Fell on Tracks After Being Hit by a Overhang, Run Over by Train
The hit caused the youngster to fall on the tracks and was run over by the oncoming G train, the NYPD said. EMS responded and pronounced that the child had died at the scene. The investigation remains ongoing.
"This is another avoidable heart-wrenching reminder that riding outside trains is not a game, and the subway is not a social media studio," Demetrius Crichlow, NYC Transit's interim president under the MTA, said in a statement.
Crichlow's statement continued: "It should not take more tragic termination of young lives for parents and classmates of those who would climb on top of subway cars to help them comprehend the devastating risk."
What is Subway Surfing?
So-called subway surfing is when a person rides on top or on the side of a moving train. These prohibited acts are often captured on video and published to social media.
The NYPD, MTA, and city officials have been pushing to alert young people to the dangers of subway surfing after a string of deadly mishaps, many fueled by social media. An MTA staff member revealed that the public transit organization is flagging social media posts of subway surfing to combat and remove content that glorifies that deadly trend; the MTA has removed 10,650 posts across various social media platforms.
Fourth Death Linked to Subway Surfing in NYC This Year
The child's death is now the fourth — and youngest — child to die this year by subway surfing. The other children who were killed were all young teenagers, ages 13, 14 and 15, per The New York Times.
In January, 14-year-old Alam Reyes died after he fell while surfing a Coney Island-bound F train, as reported by the NY Daily News. The child followed several subway surfers on social media.
Six months later, in June, Geradm Ashitey, 13, died after falling from a northbound No. 6 train in the Bronx neighborhood of Pelham Bay.
The next month, 15-year-old Anthony Bhagwandeen was discovered deceased with a severe head injury at the Beach 90th St. station elevated tracks in Rockaway, Queens. The cops believe Bhagwandeen died of subway surfing.
