E-Paper
How ‘subway surfing’ killed two teen girls in New York: All about fatal adventure
As of Sunday, police are still working to identify the second victim and locate the girls' families
The New York police ramped up their probe into the unfortunate death of two teenage girls who were killed on Saturday while subway surfing on top of a J train crossing the Williamsburg Bridge.
The two girls, one confirmed to be 13 and the other believed to be between 13 and 15, were killed from head injuries after reportedly striking a low-hanging beam while riding the final car of the Queens-bound train.
The incident occurred around 3:10 am as the train approached the Marcy Avenue station in Brooklyn.
Also Read | Indian man was fired from US job at 7 am in daily meeting. Months later, his startup hits $50k revenue
According to the police, the emergency brake was triggered as the train entered the station, prompting the conductor to investigate-- only to discover the two lifeless bodies on the roof of the train.
How is the investigation unfolding?
As of Sunday, police are still working to identify the second victim and locate the girls' families.
Police said they responded to a 911 call at the Marcy Avenue stop in Brooklyn just after 3 am to find two unconscious and unresponsive females who were pronounced dead at the scene.
Also Read | ‘Was not in favour of him going to US’: Mother of Hyderabad student shot dead in Texas
The police didn't identify the victims or disclose their ages. But New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow described them as girls involved in subway surfing, The New York Times reported.
"It's heartbreaking that two young girls are gone because they somehow thought riding outside a subway train was an acceptable game," Demetrius Crichlow, the president of New York City Transit, said in a statement on Saturday.
What is Subway Surfing?
Subway surfing, in which people ride atop or hang off the sides of fast-moving trains, has been around since the transit system's earliest days more than a century ago.
Also Read | NYC Hudson Yards bomb threat update: Times Square subway trains canceled; NYPD on scene
But it has grown more deadly in recent years, especially among teenagers inspired by sensational videos of the practice, city officials say.
According to the police data, through August, three people died this year while trying the activity.
Six train surfers died last year, up from five in 2023. By contrast, during the five-year period from 2018 to 2022, only five people were killed in suspected subway surfing incidents.
