Two girls found dead atop a New York train in suspected subway surfing accident
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Social media has fuelled the deadly trend in the US of subway surfing, in which people ride atop or hang off the sides of fast-moving trains.
PHOTO: REUTERS
By Maia Coleman
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- Two teenage girls were found dead on top of a train in Brooklyn, likely due to subway surfing.
- Subway surfing deaths have increased, with six in 2024 compared to five between 2018-2022.
- Authorities are using drones and working with social media to stop subway surfing, a deadly trend.
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NEW YORK – Two teenage girls were discovered dead on top of an incoming J train at a Brooklyn subway station early on Oct 4 and appeared to have been subway surfing, the deadly, social-media-fuelled trend popular among some New York City youth, the authorities said.
Officers responding to a 911 call found the girls unconscious shortly after 3am on the roof of the last car of a train at the Marcy Avenue station in Williamsburg that had just crossed the Williamsburg Bridge from Manhattan. They were pronounced dead at the scene. Their names and ages have not been released.
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. But it has grown more deadly in recent years, especially among teenagers inspired by sensational videos of the practice, city officials say.
Through August, three people died this year while trying the activity, according to police data, including a 15-year-old boy found on the roof of a 7 train at Queensboro Plaza in July. Six train surfers died in 2024, 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.
City and state officials and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority have ramped up efforts to dissuade young people from subway surfing. Since 2023, the police have used drones to catch subway surfers in the act. The MTA has been working with social media platforms, including Instagram and TikTok, to remove subway surfing footage. NYTIMES
