A screenshot from a video uploaded to TikTok by @big.ebk, which has since been removed, shows subway surfers in New York City. Four teens have died performing the dangerous stunt in the city this year.
@big.ebk/TikTok/Screenshot by NPR
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@big.ebk/TikTok/Screenshot by NPR
A screenshot from a video uploaded to TikTok by @big.ebk, which has since been removed, shows subway surfers in New York City. Four teens have died performing the dangerous stunt in the city this year.
@big.ebk/TikTok/Screenshot by NPR
Officials in New York City are trying to put a stop to people climbing aboard the roof of moving subway cars, also known as “subway surfing,” amid a rise in accidental deaths. They’ve repeatedly asked social media companies to take down videos of the stunts to discourage future incidents.
New York Police Department Chief of Transit Michael Kemper noted the rise in deaths during a public safety briefing last month. He said four teens died in the first six months of 2023, with two more seriously injured. By comparison, there were five suspected subway surfing fatalities between 2018 and 2022, according to Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) spokesperson Michael Cortez.
Kemper also said there have been “dozens of apprehensions and over 70 arrests” involving subway surfing this year. NYPD officers have also gone door to door and to speak with the parents and guardians of identified subway surfers in hopes they can stop their loved ones from participating in the dangerous stunt.
“Our message is clear to anyone who’s considering subway surfing. Don’t do it,” Kemper said at the press briefing. “Not only is it ill
