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LEARN MOREPosted: 5:31 p.m. EDT Jul 3, 2023
Two 14-year-old boys were killed within a week of each other while "subway surfing," authorities in New York said.
The dangerous act, which has gained popularity on social media, features people riding on the outside of subway cars.
The latest deadly incident happened on Thursday near the Queensboro Plaza station. Jevon Fraser reportedly fell from the train before being taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A week earlier, Brian Crespo died while reportedly "subway surfing."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been critical of social media platforms that feature videos of people engaging in the dangerous act.
"The promoting of it, you know, it's just really harmful to our children," Adams said in a video posted Monday with a mother of a child who died while subway surfing.
Norma Nazario's 15-year-old son died earlier this year while riding on the outside of a subway car. In the video with Adams, she had a message for people taking part in the dangerous act.
"Life is a gift, treat it as such, and stop worrying about followers," she said.
The city reports that there's been a major increase in incidents involving people riding outside of subway cars. In 2021, the city reported 206 incidents. In 2022, that number grew to 928.
The young people we lose to Subway Surfing are more than names. They are stories of young lives that ended far too soon. And we have to protect them. pic.twitter.com/OPDTzUNo0L
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) July 3, 2023
