A 15-year-old is in critical condition after a subway surfing incident left the teen bloodied and with severe head trauma during the illegal stunt atop a moving train in Queens.
The teen was found unconscious on the roof of an elevated 7 train at the 111th Street station on Roosevelt Avenue in Richmond Hill around 6:08 p.m. on Thursday night, police said.
Grim video footage from the scene shows the teen splayed out on top of the train as a concerned friend scrambles over to him in an attempt to help. Blood could be seen streaming down the side of the train from the teen’s head injury.
Emergency workers were seen on video hoisting the teen from the top of the train and laying him on the platform while straphangers looked on in horror. The teen continued to bleed profusely on the platform.
The teen was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition. Police confirmed to DailyMail.com that the teen is still critical as of Friday morning. His identity has not been released.
Subway-surfing has hit the headlines in recent weeks as Big Apple youngsters attempt the highly-dangerous activity, which sees them clamber on top of the curved rooves of moving train cars.
A 15-year-old is in critical condition after a subway surfing stunt in Queens left the teen with severe head trauma. Grim footage shows his friend and other straphangers trying to help
The teen’s friend rushes to his aid after he struck his head while subway surfing on Thursday
An unknown individual approaches the teen to help as blood streams down the subway car in Queens. The teen knocked unconscious while subway surfing on Thursday night
The 7 train was delayed in both directions Thursday night.
The MTA released a statement following the incident.
‘Riding on top of a subway car is reckless, extremely dangerous and inconsiderate as it causes significant delays for other New Yorkers,’ said Pat Warren, MTA Chief Safety and Security Officer.
‘Seeking a thrill that promises heartache for family and friends is foolhardy; choose other avenues to have some fun, ones that demonstrate respect for those you care about.’
Thursday’s subway incident is just the latest in a spate of subway surfing stunts – the second in less than two weeks.
Footage captures paramedics pulling the teen off the train roof and laying him down on the platform where he continued to bleed profusely from his head
Paramedics worked on the teen following the incident as horrified onlookers stood nearby
The teen continued to bleed as paramedics worked on him as he lay on the platform at the Queens subway station after hitting his head while subway surfing
Earlier this month, a group of at least eight people were caught on camera surfing subway cars while traversing Williamsburg Bridge in New York City amid a citywide increase in crime.
The shocking incident took place on a J-train as it was heading towards Marcy Avenue station in Brooklyn from Manhattan’s Lower East Side, according to the New York Post.
Footage showed the group of subway surfers, mostly wearing black, sprinting in the same direction as the train, with some preferring to sit in between passengers cars.
A group of at least eight subway surfers were seen on the roof of a train on the J-line heading towards Brooklyn earlier this month
One of the group’s members was seen break dancing on the train’s roof while another briefly ran in the opposition direction to the train.
The NYPD said it has been informed of the incident and that the group of eight could face trespassing and reckless endangerment charges.
In October, a 32-year-old man fell to his death while subway surfing atop a J train at Essex Street and the Williamsburg Bridge in Manhattan.
Back in 2019, a teen was killed while subway surfing atop the 7 train near Queensboro Plaza. Reports of subway surfing increased that year by 15 percent form the year earlier, according to The City.
Subway cars in the Big Apple can go up to 50 miles per hour in between stations that are far apart, according to The Gothamist.
The average speed for trains on the J-line is 15.4 miles per hour compared to the overall subway system’s 17.4 miles per hour, the local outlet further reported.
Earlier this month, police arrested a man who was seen on surveillance video tossing a 52-year-old woman onto the subway tracks in the Bronx in a random attack.
He is suspected of randomly shoving a woman onto subway tracks in The Bronx
Theodore Ellis, 30, of the Bronx, who faces charges of assault and reckless endangerment, told police that was drunk and he ‘didn’t realize his strength’ when he threw woman onto subway tracks, ABC7 News reported.
The victim suffered a broken collarbone, and many cuts and bruises.
At the time of the incident, there was no train approaching the station, and other commuters were able to help the woman get back onto the platform.
The attack is the latest of many to have occurred in the New York subway system recently, despite Mayor Eric Adams promising to crack down on crime.
Transit crime in New York has sky rocketed in 2022 compared to 2021, with a 54 per cent increase. New York Mayor Eric Adams, who was an ex-cop elected on a promise to stop crime in the city, has been slammed along with the NYPD for their failure to do so.
According to NYPD data, while murders and shooting are down nearly 9 and 7 per cent, respectively, from last year, overall crime is up nearly 40 per cent so far in 2022.
That includes a whopping 39.5 per cent rise in robberies, a 19 per cent increase in felony assaults and a 16 per cent increase in rapes.
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