A teenager was found dead on train tracks in the Bronx early Friday morning after reportedly surfing the internet on the subway, police sources said.
The identity of the 13-year-old boy has not been released, but NYPD officials said he was found around 9 a.m. near the Middletown Road station.
“These incidents are a painful reminder that riding outside of subway cars is not a cheap thrill — it’s extremely dangerous,” NYC Transit Interim Commissioner Demetrius Crichlow said in a statement. “We will continue to run information campaigns, including teens speaking to teens about the dangers of riding outside of subway cars.”
The city coroner will determine the boy’s cause of death.
A rise in subway surfing cases, including deaths among young New Yorkers, led state and city officials to announce a new public campaign last year aimed at discouraging people from the dangerous behavior.
As part of the “Subway Surfing Costs Lives – Get Inside, Stay Surviving” campaign, the NYPD is sending officers to elevated rail stations and making home visits to young people seen riding outside the trains.
Data shows that subway surfing — riding outside of a subway car — primarily occurs during warm school afternoons and is a popular but dangerous after-school activity.
The MTA is taking a new approach to combat a deadly teen epidemic known as “subway surfing.” Andrew Schiff reports.