A 16-year-old girl survived a frightening subway surfing incident in Queens after hitting an overhead beam while riding atop a train, police and law enforcement sources said.
The teenager was on the roof of a southbound A train as it entered the Broad Channel station at about 3:12 p.m. Wednesday when she slammed into the beam, according to authorities and sources familiar with the case.
Video shared on social media captured the aftermath, showing the girl lying motionless across the top of the stopped train as firefighters worked carefully to bring her down. Commuters watched from the platform while NYPD officers tried to manage the scene.
Despite the terrifying collision, the teen was conscious and alert when she was taken to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center. She was treated for a broken femur and was listed in stable condition, officials said.
“The train’s not gonna move after this,” one irritated rider was heard saying at the station. “Thank God she got off safe and she’s alive though.”
“You gotta give a shout-out to the firefighters.”
The incident comes amid an ongoing NYPD crackdown on subway surfing, a risky trend that officials said in May remains alarmingly widespread. Since enforcement efforts began five years ago, police have caught at least 60 repeat offenders, some as young as 10.
