An 18-year-old youth died in a hospital several hours after being seriously injured in an accident with a horse-drawn tourist carriage in Central Park, New York, CBS News reported.
According to the New York City police and official statements from the labor unions, the tragic incident was caused by gross negligence on the part of the coachman.
The deceased youth is Romanch Mahajan, a tourist from India. The trip to the United States was a gift from his family on the occasion of his high school graduation. Just two days earlier, he had learned that he had been accepted to a prestigious university in his homeland.
Romanch was in the carriage with three members of his family when the horse became frightened and sped away at breakneck speed, after which the youth was thrown from his seat. In the fall, he hit his head hard on the asphalt of West Drive.
The other family members escaped with minor injuries and a fright.
The coachmen's union confirmed that the driver let go of the reins and got out of the carriage to take a picture of the family. The regulations expressly prohibit coachmen from leaving the animals for any reason. Left unattended, the horse named Sampson became frightened by an unknown noise or visual cause and ran away at a gallop. After a furious chase along the busy avenue of the park, the carriage caught the wheel of another carriage and overturned in the area of the popular restaurant Tavern on the Green.
The horse itself was not injured in the incident. It had been purchased and introduced to the park only six weeks ago. The owner of the carriage has suspended the driver indefinitely, and the horse Sampson will be permanently retired and taken out of business.
This is the second serious incident at the park in just one week - on June 9, another 16-year-old workhorse (Denise) collapsed and died in front of tourists after swallowing a poisonous park plant. The Central Park Conservancy, which manages the park, announced that this was the first human death in the modern history of these attractions in New York, and categorically demanded their complete ban.
The tragedy caused a huge wave of discontent. New York Mayor Zoran Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin announced that the council will urgently consider a bill to permanently terminate and ban horse-drawn carriages in Central Park next month.