In a tragic incident, two teenage girls, one of them just 13 years old, lost their lives in what authorities suspect to be a subway-surfing accident on a Brooklyn train. This recent event has raised the count of subway surfing victims to five this year, matching the total for 2023 and approaching the six fatalities recorded in 2024.
The incident occurred in the early hours of the morning at the Marcy Avenue-Broadway subway station in Williamsburg. Responding to a call at 3:10 a.m., police found the girls unconscious and unresponsive atop a Brooklyn-bound J train. Three teenage boys were also present at the scene, two of whom were later taken away by the police.
Emergency personnel were seen removing a plastic bag and a skateboard from the station, though it remains uncertain whether these items belonged to the victims. The girls were pronounced dead at the scene. The age of the second victim is estimated to be between 13 and 18 years old.
NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow expressed his sorrow over the incident, stating, “It’s heartbreaking that two young girls are gone because they somehow thought riding outside a subway train was an acceptable game.” He urged parents, teachers, and friends to communicate the dangers of such actions, stating that subway surfing is not a game, but a life-threatening risk.
Witnesses reported that the girls were part of a group of approximately 15 teenagers who were seen running around inside the train before they were discovered on the roof. The dangerous trend of subway surfing, fueled by social media, has seen an increase in recent years, with teenagers posting videos of their risky exploits. From 2018 to 2022, five people lost their lives to this dangerous activity.
Previous incidents include the death of 15-year-old Carlos Oliver from the Bronx, who fell from a southbound 7 train on July 4, and 12-year-old Gustavo Guaman-Quizhpilema of Queens, who was critically injured while riding atop a 7 train on March 14. Gustavo succumbed to his injuries four days later.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has been urging parents to dissuade their children from participating in this reckless trend. The MTA has also been running a “Ride Inside, Stay Alive” public service announcement since 2023. In an effort to combat this issue, the NYPD started using drones in November 2023 and arrested 229 people for riding outside trains in 2024, a significant increase from 135 in 2023.