NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A 13-year-old boy was killed while subway surfing in Queens, officials said Friday—a death that came just hours before another person was injured while subway surfing in the Bronx.
The body of the 13-year-old was found at the Forest Avenue M-line station in Ridgewood around 10 p.m. Wednesday, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The teen was identified as Adolfo Samabria. Police said he's the fifth subway surfing death this year.
“This is another heartbreaking situation where a child tragically mistook riding outside subway cars for some kind of joyride,” NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said in a statement.
“I implore anyone who thinks surfing trains is a game—and parents, friends and teachers who can persuade them otherwise—to understand the deadly risk and ride inside,” Crichlow said.
Samabria’s death came hours before a 20-year-old man was injured after he fell between train cars while subway surfing on a 5-line train at the East 180th Street station in the Bronx Thursday morning. He was pulled up by other passengers and taken to a hospital by EMS to be treated for facial injuries.
And just last month, an 11-year-old boy was killed while subway surfing in Park Slope.
City Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos said grief counseling will be available at the teen’s school, as well as at the school of a 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed in Harlem Thursday morning.
“When one school loses a student, it impacts the entire city,” Aviles-Ramos said in a statement. “This is why I am making student safety and wellness my top priority as schools chancellor. Too many young lives are being cut short by violence in our communities due to the negative impacts of social media or mental health challenges.”
Aviles-Ramos said NYC Public Schools, in partnership with other city agencies, is convening a community forum this Saturday, Oct. 26, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Safe Streets and Safe Schools, where NYC Public Schools and other city agencies will share interventions and resources available for students and families to mitigate community violence. Those interested in attending can RSVP at learndoe.org/OSPP.
City Council Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers said Friday that the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which she chairs, “regards subway surfing as a priority issue and we hope to hold a hearing on subway surfing in the coming weeks.”
“We look forward to working with the MTA and other key stakeholders to ensure we keep our students and all New Yorkers safe,” Brooks-Powers said.
The MTA said it works with social media companies to flag and remove posts depicting subway surfing. Well over 10,000 posts have been removed, officials said.