A 14-year-old boy was killed and an 18-year-old youth critically injured after falling from a Brooklyn-bound J train while subway surfing on the Williamsburg Bridge on Friday evening, according to authorities.
New York City Police Department officers responded to multiple emergency calls just before 6 p. m.
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and found the two teenagers unconscious on the roadbed tracks shared by the J and M lines.
The younger teenager was pronounced dead at the scene. Emergency responders transported the 18-year-old to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition.
Authorities noted both suffered injuries consistent with falling from an elevated height.
Second Consecutive Friday Incident
The incident marks the second consecutive Friday that individuals were spotted subway surfing at this specific location on the Williamsburg Bridge, where low-hanging infrastructure presents extreme hazards.
NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow expressed heartbreak over the tragedy. "It's incomprehensible—and pains me as a parent—that it continues to happen.
I'm imploring families, friends, teachers, and others coming into contact with teens engaging in these suicidal stunts to get them to stop," he said.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani addressed the fatal incident on social media, emphasizing the tragedy could have been prevented.
"Tonight, two young New Yorkers fell while subway surfing on a Brooklyn-bound J train near the Williamsburg Bridge.
One teenager is dead. Another is fighting for his life.
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This is a preventable tragedy," he said.
A former subway surfer named Michael explained that low-hanging infrastructure makes the Williamsburg Bridge an especially perilous location.
"It's a notorious hot spot. I nicknamed it the 'Death Bridge,'" he said.
Michael stated he stopped subway surfing in 2023 after a low beam struck and killed his 15-year-old friend, Zachary Nazario, on the same bridge.
"He got distracted after his girlfriend called his name and he looked away. The beam struck him," Michael said.
A witness near the scene observed emergency responders rushing toward the bridge. "I just seen a bunch of paramedics rushing down with the police.
They said a little boy subway surfing fell off the train," the witness said.
According to police records, similar incidents have occurred frequently on the line, including an October incident where two teenage girls died from head injuries on top of a J train.
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That contributed to a total of seven subway surfing deaths in 2024 and at least five in 2025.
