Teen Killed in Possible Subway Surfing Incident
By Katie McFadden
A 15-year-old boy was found dead on the elevated train tracks near Beach 90th Street, in a possible subway surfing incident.
At around 5:30 p.m., the body of the boy was discovered. He had suffered traumatic head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is still under investigation to determine if the teen was hit by a train, but police believe the boy may have been subway surfing. The act involves riding on top of a moving subway car.
The boy has since been identified as Anthony Bhagwandeen of Queens. His heartbroken father established a GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses (www.gofundme.com/f/fvh7g-help-us-lay-anthony-to-rest).
According to the NYPD, there have been 104 total incidents of train surfing, with two fatalities this year. Assemblyman Khaleel Anderson responded to the incident, saying social media is behind the increasing activity. “I am saddened to learn that on July 26th, another young person lost their life on the Rockaway peninsula while subway surfing. My condolences and prayers are with the family and loved ones of the young boy who passed away. This dangerous activity involves riding on top of cars or between them or hanging from the sides of moving trains which has risen in popularity in recent years, driven in part by trends on social media.” Anderson said earlier this year, he and other elected officials sent letters to CEOs of social media companies, asking them to remove videos and photos of subway surfing, to not encourage it.
