- An Indian teen died after jumping from a runaway horse carriage in New York's Central Park
- The horse bolted when the driver left to take a family photo, causing chaos
- Romanch Mahajan had jumped to help his mother, who had fallen, but hit his head on ground and died hours later
A video has surfaced that shows an Indian teen dying after jumping from a runaway horse carriage at New York's famous Central Park on Wednesday. Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old on his first trip to New York with his family, died as he got off of the four-wheeled carriage to save his mother, who had fallen after the horse sprinted through the park without the driver.
A video that has gone viral shows the horse bolting after the driver got down to take a family picture. The carriage, which was carrying Romanch, his parents and younger brother, then dashed around a corner and tore up onto the sidewalk, with the driver trying to race behind it.
The six-second clip shows at least two persons falling from the carriage. The horse, reportedly a 7-year-old named Sampson who had been working in the park for only six weeks, then hit another carriage before toppling.
While Romanch's family members escaped with minor injuries, he hit his head on the ground and died hours later at the hospital.
"He was screaming, 'Mom!'"
Romanch's father, Deepak Mahajan, said the horse suddenly bolted when the carriage driver got down to take a photograph of the family near a fountain.
Romanch's mother fell out of the carriage, and the teen jumped out in an attempt to save her, he told told The New York Times.
"We were yelling, 'Help me, help me!"' Mahajan recounted.
He said the family clung desperately to one another, but when his wife, Priya, fell out of the carriage, Romanch jumped down to try to help her.
"He was screaming, 'Mom!'" he said.
"This incident should be taken very seriously... It took my son's dream away," Mahajan said.
He said that they had arrived from India on Monday, the same day Romanch learned he had been accepted to a university in Jaipur.
Mahajan said they had spent the trip visiting many of New York's popular tourist attractions, including the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.
"Never Had A Fatal Accident Before"
The union that represents carriage drivers said Romanch Mahajan is the first person to die in a horse-drawn carriage accident since they were introduced in Central Park more than 150 years ago.
"We're absolutely gutted and stunned by this tragedy. We've never had a fatal accident like this before," Alexander Kemp, a vice president of the union, Transport Workers Union Local 100, said in a statement.
He also said that the driver is never supposed to leave the carriage to take photos.
The driver, whose name was not immediately released, has been suspended indefinitely by the carriage's owner, Kemp added.
'Ban Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides'
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani was among those who demanded a ban on horse-drawn carriage rides. The Indian-origin leader said he would work with the council, the industry and animal welfare advocates to "deliver a just transition that protects workers while ending horse-drawn carriages in Central Park once and for all".
The Central Park Conservancy, which manages the 843-acre park, also said that the carriage industry should be suspended until more protections can be put in place.
Mahajan's death was the eighth horse-related incident in the park over the past 13 months, the group said.
