"Ka'Von Wooden loved trains. The 15-year-old had an encyclopedic knowledge of New York City's subway system and dreamed of becoming a train operator. Instead, on a December morning in 2022, Ka'Von died after he climbed to the roof of a moving J train in Brooklyn and then fell onto the tracks as it headed onto the Williamsburg Bridge. He is one of more than a dozen New Yorkers, many young boys, who have been killed or badly injured after falling off speeding trains."
"Early Saturday morning, New York City police found two girls dead - ages 12 and 13 - in what apparently was a subway surfing game that turned fatal, authorities said. Metropolitan Transportation Authority President Demetrius Crichlow said in a statement that "getting on top of a subway car isn't 'surfing' - it's suicide." Subway surfing dates back a century but it has been fueled by social media."
"Authorities have tried to address the problem with public awareness campaigns - including a new one featuring Grammy Award-winning rapper Cardi B - and by deploying drones to catch thrill-seekers in the act. "When Ka'Von died ... literally two weeks later, another child died. And another one. That makes no sense," his mother, Y'Vonda Maxwell, told The Associated Press, saying transit and law enforcement officials haven't done enough. "Why should my child have not been the end?""
Ka'Von Wooden, a 15-year-old who loved trains, died after climbing to the roof of a moving J train in Brooklyn and falling onto the tracks as it headed onto the Williamsburg Bridge. He is among more than a dozen New Yorkers, many of them young boys, killed or badly injured after falling off speeding trains. Risks include being crushed between trains and tunnel walls and being electrocuted by high-voltage tracks. Subway surfing has existed for a century and has been amplified by social media. Authorities have launched awareness campaigns, used drones, and the MTA says it is studying the issue.
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