Another fatal case of “subway surfing” occurred in New York City. A 15-year-old boy slipped and fell while moving on the roof of the No. 7 train at the Queensboro Plaza subway station in Queens in the early morning of the 4th. He was sent to the hospital and died. He became the third teenager to die from “subway surfing” this year.
According to police, the accident occurred at around 2:45 a.m. When the police received a report and rushed to Queensboro Plaza Station, they found that the boy was unconscious and lying on the tracks of the incoming train. The paramedics sent him to Bellevue Hospital for rescue, but he was still pronounced dead. The boy’s identity has not been made public yet.
The police initially judged that the teenager was trying to climb or standing on the top of a No. 7 train at the time and accidentally fell during the process. The detailed cause of the accident is still under investigation.
According to statistics from the New York police, six people died from “subway surfing” last year alone, most of whom were teenagers, and the youngest was only 11 years old. So far this year, three deaths have occurred and 79 people have been arrested. Although nine fewer than the same period last year, it still shows that young people’s imitation and pursuit of this dangerous behavior has not diminished.
In the face of frequent reports of “subway surfing”, the police and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) have jointly promoted a number of preventive measures. In addition to posting warning signs and playing public safety videos in subway stations, the MTA launched the “Ride Inside and Stay Alive” campaign in June, which conveyed the message of “showing off skills is not bravery, safety is the real cool” to young people through social media and subway advertisements, calling on them to pay attention to personal safety.
On the other hand, the New York City Police Department has recently begun to deploy drones on ground subway lines for high-altitude patrols, especially to strengthen surveillance in elevated sections and turning sections, in an effort to detect “surfing” behavior in real time and prevent it before it happens. It is understood that the police will also cooperate with community schools in the future to promote campus safety education courses, emphasizing the legal consequences and life risks of such behavior.
