NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — An NYPD officer spotted a teen boy subway surfing in Queens on Thursday afternoon and saved him from potential injury as police and the MTA continue to discourage the dangerous stunt.
Officer Ariasmercedes and Sergeant Newman saw the 14-year-old surfing on top of a 7 train as it pulled into the Mets-Willets Point subway station on Feb. 6 and quickly intervened, according to an NYPD social media post.
Newman coordinated with the train crew and train passengers to find the teen and remove him from harm’s way.
“With help from NY’ers, they caught the boy and prevented a potential tragedy,” the NYPD said.
The rescue comes after significant instances of subway surfing in January. A 15-year-old boy suffered head injuries after falling off a train in the Bronx on Jan. 21, days before a 16-year-old boy injured his legs falling off a train in an underground Queens station.
Six people died subway surfing last year, including two teens one week in late October.
In an effort to limit subway surfing, the MTA and police have worked with social media companies to remove videos of the act from their platforms and started the campaign “Ride Inside, Stay Alive” in 2023, which targets teens.