Two girls were found dead on Saturday night on a J-line train at Marcy Avenue station in Williamsburg district, Brooklyn. According to the NYPD, the two teens were on the roof of the last car when the convoy finished crossing the Williamsburg Bridge, coming from Manhattan. The rescuers found them unconscious shortly after three o’clock in the morning and found their death on the spot. The authorities have not yet published their generalities.
The first hypotheses indicate that the two young people were practicing the so-called subway surfing, an illegal practice that consists in travelling outside the trains on the move, clinging to the sides or climbing the roof of the wagons. The first documentation of subway surfing cases in New York dates back to the early decades of the 20th century, when the metro system was still partially discovered and access to the external wagons was not always controlled. But the increase in mortal cases occurred only in recent years. According to data from the New York Police Department, six people died in 2024 for such accidents, against five in 2023. Between 2018 and 2022, the victims had totaled five.
The city authorities have adopted stricter measures to combat the phenomenon. Since 2023, the police have used drones to detect offenders and prevent new episodes. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has also started collaborations with the main social platforms to remove content that promote or show episodes of subway surfing. Demetrius Crichlow, president of the New York City Transit, defined the risk assumed by those who choose to travel outside the trains, inviting young people to understand the severity of these actions.
On Saturday morning, Marcy Avenue station returned to operation, but the episode attracted the attention of many local residents. Several local traders reported that they learned the news only after the reopening of the service.
Article Two girls found death on the roof of a train in Brooklyn: they were suspected to be doing <i>subway surfing</i> proviene da IlNewyorkese.
