Source: Gary Hershorn / Getty
Once again, the deadly trend of subway surfing amongst teenagers in New York City has left another family mourning as a 15-year-old high school student has become the latest victim of the dangerous practice.
According to the New York Daily News, Zackery Nazario became the latest victim of the subway surfing craze this past Monday night when he attempted to ride the top of the J train as it traveled over the Williamsburg Bridge between the Manhattan and Brooklyn boroughs. Unfortunately, Nazario was run over by the train after a beam hit him on the head and caused him to fall under the train. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The MTA is reporting that a staggering 928 people were found to be train surfing in the past year alone, which is four times as many that were spotted doing the same in the previous two years. How and why subway surfing has become a popular “sport” amongst the youth is anyone’s guess. But it’s proving to be a very deadly trend amongst today’s teens and tweens. New York Mayor Eric Adams plans on addressing the issue, though he didn’t specify on how the city will go about doing so.
“We’re going to do a series of things to raise awareness,” Mayor Adams vowed Tuesday, describing the teen’s death Monday as “really traumatic.”
“This was really a terrible tragic incident of this young man. Our team is going to do a host of things, to bring awareness, to speak with young people and really show how dangerous it is.”
Naturally, subway surfing is illegal and can lead to offenders getting as much as $75 in fines and even getting hit with reckless endangerment charges. But that doesn’t seem to be deterring wannabe daredevils from risking it all for the sake of “likes” on social media in 2023. That’s something that Adams is currently taking into account as well.
“I don’t think that we have properly analyzed what social media is doing to us in general, but specifically to our young people, and I am hoping that the president calls a national blue-ribbon commission to really analyze this,” Adams said. “Some of these sites , they’re more addictive than drugs. People can’t get off them.”
“They’re robbing our children of their innocence,” he added. “The national government must come in and say, ‘What is the corporate responsibility of social media?’”
Nazario’s tragic death comes just months after 15-year-old Ka’Von Wooden died performing the same stunt on the J train where he fell on the third rail and died from severe head trauma.
Whether or not this latest tragedy is a wakeup call for train surfers remains to be seen. But as long as it’s all the rage on social media, we feel like this won’t be the last time we report on such horrible events.
Be safe out there, y’all.
