An 18-year-old tourist from India has died after being thrown from a horse-drawn carriage that crashed in New York City's Central Park. The young man, identified as Romanch Mahajan, was riding in the carriage with his family when the horse became spooked and bolted. The carriage toppled over after clipping the wheels of another carriage on the park's busy loop road near West 67th Street and the Tavern on the Green restaurant. The incident occurred at approximately 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday. The teenager was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center in critical condition, where he later died from his injuries. Other family members inside the carriage suffered only minor injuries and refused medical treatment at the scene.

The carriage driver had stepped down from the vehicle to take a photograph of his passengers when the horse ran off. The Transport Workers Union, which represents carriage industry employees, confirmed that drivers are never supposed to leave the carriage to take photos. Alexander Kemp, administrative vice president of the union's local chapter, stated the horse had been operating in the park for only six weeks and called the incident unacceptable. Kemp said the union supports a full investigation and called for enhanced driver training, tougher examinations with a practical proficiency component, and new rules for introducing horses into the business. He also expressed support for installing hitching posts throughout the park. The carriage owner has suspended the driver indefinitely and will retire the horse from service. The horse was found near Tavern on the Green and was not injured.

Video footage captured the horse sprinting through the park as two people appeared to jump from the carriage. A second video shows the carriage toppling over after clipping the wheels of another carriage. A carriage driver who arrived at the scene said she checked on the animal and secured it to a pole, noting that the horse appeared unharmed. She described the runaway carriage's driver as very shaken up.

This incident comes during a difficult period for Central Park's horse-drawn carriage industry, which has operated for approximately 150 years. The accident follows several recent horse-related problems in the park, including the fatal collapse of a horse named Deniz the previous week, which was attributed to the horse eating a toxic plant. The Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit organization that operates the park, expressed devastation over the death and called it the first known fatality involving a horse carriage passenger in the park. The group stated that a young man came to enjoy the park and lost his life, and that this is not an acceptable cost of an antiquated industry operating in one of the most heavily used public spaces in America. The Conservancy has renewed its call for New York City to pass Ryder's Law, a proposed ban on horse carriages named after a horse that collapsed and died on a Manhattan street in 2022. The law would also provide transitional job placement services for displaced drivers.

NYCLASS, an advocacy group, called the situation an emergency and warned that blocking the legislation puts lives at risk. PETA Director Ashley Byrne called on city council members to pass Ryder's Law immediately, stating that repeated disasters demonstrate the need to remove horses from the park for everyone's safety. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he supports ending the horse carriage industry in city parks and looks forward to working with the City Council, union partners, and community leaders to deliver a just transition for workers. The bill failed to pass a City Council vote in November but has seen a renewed push for reintroduction following Wednesday's tragedy. The New York Police Department is involved in the ongoing response to the accident.

Original Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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