Romanch Mahajan died after trying to save his mother, his father told 'The New York Times'
NEED TO KNOW
- Romanch Mahajan, 18, was visiting New York City from India when he tragically fell from a horse-drawn carriage on Tuesday, June 16
- The horse, Sampson, ran loose and caused the carriage to topple over
- Mahajan died after trying to save his mother, his father told The New York Times
An 18-year-old tourist was tragically killed after an incident involving a Central Park horse.
Romanch Mahajan, identified by The New York Times, was visiting New York City from India on Tuesday, June 16, when he, his parents and younger brother took a horse-drawn carriage ride. Midway through, Mahajan asked the driver to take a photo of the group, and the driver stopped the carriage.
The driver, who has not been publicly identified, stood back from the carriage to capture the family photo when the horse, named Sampson, took off, Romanch’s father Deepak Mahajan said, according to the outlet. As the driver ran behind the carriage, Romanch's mother Priya fell out, Deepak said, per The Times. Romanch attempted to save her, but fell off the carriage himself, striking his head on the pavement.
“We were yelling, ‘Help me, help me!' ” Deepak recalled to the outlet, adding that Romanch had been screaming for his mother after her fall. “My son, just to save his mother, he fell off." At one point, the family's carriage collided with another carriage and fell over.
Romanch was transported to the New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday, June 17, The Times reported.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) confirmed in a news release obtained by PEOPLE that an 18-year-old male fell from a horse-drawn carriage around 2:45 p.m., local time.
Md Shafi Islam, 58, who operates an ice cream and hot-dog stand nearby, witnessed the horse running. “The horse was going so fast — he was running and running,” he told The Times. “My God — I was thinking this is going to be a bad accident,” he said, adding“[The driver] was fast, but the horse was faster."
TWU Local 100 Administrative VP Alexander Kemp issued a statement sharing the union's devastation about the teen's death. "Safety in the park has been a growing concern among many, and improvements are needed to be made with respect to all vehicles, including e-bicycles, delivery vehicles, pedicabs, and horse-drawn carriages," Kemp said, per ABC 7 New York.
Calling the driver's actions "unacceptable," Kemp said the carriage owner suspended the driver indefinitely, and Sampson will be retired. The 7-year-old horse had only worked in the park for six weeks; he was not injured.
The Central Park Conservancy also shared condolences to Mahajan's family on Wednesday, June 17. "A young man came to enjoy our park and lost his life. That is not an acceptable cost of an antiquated industry operating in the middle of one of the most heavily used public spaces in America," the conservancy said.
The Conservancy added that they are renewing the call for New York City to pass Ryder's Law. The proposed law would ban horse carriages and provide the drivers with job placement services.
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The young man's death comes a week after a 16-year-old horse named Deniz collapsed and died during a carriage ride in Central Park. Deniz, which was carrying two passengers and a driver, likely died after ingesting a highly poisonous Japanese yew plant, TWU Local 100 reported.
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