Two young women died early on Saturday morning in a possible subway surfing incident on the J line in Brooklyn, sources familiar with the case said.
The unidentified victims were found unconscious and unresponsive atop a train car stopped at the Marcy Avenue station in Williamsburg at about 3:10 a.m. on Oct. 4.
Officers from the 90th Precinct and NYPD Transit District 33 responded to the location after receiving a 911 call about the incident.
EMS units pronounced both young women dead at the scene. WABC-TV reported that they appeared to be in their teens. The NYPD has not yet released their identities, pending notification to their families.
Overnight service on the J line was halted for several hours while the investigation took place, but service resumed by sunrise.
The preliminary investigation indicated that both girls were believed to have been subway surfing when they were killed atop the train car. MTA New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow noted that the transit workers who discovered the dead victims were “horribly shaken.”
“It’s heartbreaking that two young girls are gone because they somehow thought riding outside a subway train was an acceptable game,” Crichlow said. “Parents, teachers, and friends need to be clear with loved ones: getting on top of a subway car isn’t ‘surfing’—it’s suicide. I’m thinking of both the grieving families and transit workers who discovered these children, all of whom have been horribly shaken by this tragedy.”
Both the NYPD and MTA have made efforts to curb subway surfing in recent years, amid an increase in the dangerous and illegal activity, thanks to viral videos shared on social media. More than 200 people have been arrested this year for subway surfing. The MTA has employed social media influencers to help spread the message and encourage youths to “ride inside, stay alive.”
Parents of youngsters killed in subway surfing incidents have even taken social media giants to court, hoping to hold them accountable for keeping subway surfing videos on their platforms.
