13-year-old subway surfer injured in the Bronx
A 13-year-old subway surfer was injured in the Bronx late Sunday afternoon.
The unidentified teenager was spotted on the 5 line at Baychester Avenue around 4:14 p.m., DCPI said. Police responded to multiple 911 calls to collect the teen. It’s not clear, exactly how the teen was injured.
Bystanders observed the boy walking along the subway tracks. He was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries to the groin, DCPI said.
Subway surfing in New York City has taken lives nearly every month this year. Teens try to take the ride on the outside often as part of social media trends, which the city is trying to combat.
The MTA has tried to force social media companies to remove subway surfing content in order to dissuade people from trying to replicate dangerous trends.
It claims that the companies have been “mostly compliant,” but there has been no actual data to reflect that as daredevil surfers continue to endanger themselves.
A spokesperson from the MTA claimed that the agency has its own database to keep track of the online content they need to flag, but could not provide any requested data.
Social media companies have also refused to share any data, leaving the MTA’s crusade in an awkward limbo.
Just last month, an 18-year-old was critically injured while in a botched subway surfing attempt.
In late October, a 13-year-old was killed while trying to ride on top of a subway as part of an internet stunt while her friend was critically injured.
The same happened just one month prior when an 11-year-old slammed his head against a low-hanging metal beam while subway surfing.
In June, a 13-year-old had also been killed while attempting the same social media trend.