Central Park Carriage Horse Bolts, Leaving Teenager Dead in Tragic Crash

An 18-year-old tourist who was hurled to the ground after a Central Park carriage horse suddenly bolted on Wednesday has died from his injuries.

Police said the teen was one of four passengers riding in the horse-drawn carriage when the incident unfolded shortly before 3 p.m., according to the New York Police Department.

Authorities said he was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center in critical condition following the crash. The three other people in the carriage declined medical attention.

The victim was identified as Romanch Mahajan, who was visiting New York City from India. Investigators said he suffered a fatal head injury after falling from the carriage and striking the pavement.

Video from the scene captures the chaotic moments as the carriage driver sprints after the runaway horse, while Mahajan is seen falling onto the street.

A spokesperson for the Transport Workers Union, which represents workers in the carriage industry, said the horse had been operating in the park for just six weeks.

The driver had dismounted to take a photograph of his passengers, according to Alexander Kemp, the administrative vice president of the union’s local chapter.

‘A driver is not supposed to leave the carriage to take photos – ever,’ Kemp said. ‘We support a full investigation.

‘We also support enhanced driving training, tougher examinations with a practical component demonstrating proficiency, and rules governing the introduction of new horses into the business,’ Kemp explained. 

‘Thousands upon thousands of rides are taken without incident, but steps must be taken to prevent accidents like this.’ 

Video showed the horse galloping through the park as two people appeared to jump from the four-wheeled carriage. 

A second video shows the cab toppling over after clipping the wheels of another carriage on the park’s busy loop.

Eyewitnesses said passengers in the back were screaming with terror as the horse shot off on its own, pulling the carriage along with it.  

‘The horse got scared and ran super fast,’ Tatianna Bresler, 20, told The New York Post.

‘The immediate reaction was just like ‘oh my god, oh my god my god’ like covering my eyes because I thought maybe someone had gotten smushed or something I couldn’t even imagine, and then I called 911,’ the woman said.

The horse broke away from its driver near West 72nd Street. Video then sees the runaway horse and carriage toppling over close to Tavern on the Green at West 67th Street, after colliding with another carriage.

The carriage was strewn across the park’s loop road following the devastating crash

The horse, a seven-year-old named Sampson, appeared to be uninjured following the incident. 

It’s a fraught moment for Central Park’s 150-year-old horse-drawn carriage industry, which is facing the growing threat of a ban from opponents who say the rides are both inhumane to horses and a danger to city residents.

Wednesday’s event follows several recent horse-related problems in the park, including the fatal collapse of a horse last week which died after eating a toxic plant.

The Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit which operates the park and came out last summer in support of banning horse-drawn carriages, said the back-to-back tragedies should bring an end to the industry.

‘We are absolutely devastated to learn that Romanch Mahajan, the 18-year-old visitor injured in today’s carriage incident, has died,’ the Conservancy wrote. 

‘This is the tragedy we feared when we first called last year for horse carriages to be banned from Central Park due to the risks they pose to public safety and public health. 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. 

‘We hope today’s injuries are the last we ever see.’