An 18-year-old tourist died Wednesday after falling from a runaway horse carriage in Central Park, New York City police confirmed. The victim was identified by the Central Park Conservancy as Romanch Mahajan, who was visiting the city with his family.
Mahajan was transported to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center after falling from the carriage around 2:47 p.m. He later succumbed to his injuries, according to police.
The Transport Workers Union of America, which represents carriage horse drivers, said the driver was "at least at arm's length from his horse to take a photo of his passengers in the carriage," when the horse took off "for unknown reasons." TWU Local 100 Administrative Vice President Alexander Kemp said the carriage clipped the wheel of another carriage and toppled. Kemp said the horse had only been in the park six weeks. No other persons were injured.
The carriage owner suspended the driver indefinitely and the horse will be retired from the business, Kemp said. Drivers are not supposed to leave the carriage to take photos, Kemp acknowledged, and the union supports a full investigation.
The incident occurred eight days after a separate horse, named Deniz, collapsed and died in the park while carrying two passengers and a driver near East 90th Street on June 9. A necropsy released Tuesday by the TWU found that the horse had eaten a Japanese yew, an ornamental plant that is toxic and deadly to horses, from along the curb. None of the people in that carriage were seriously injured.
According to ABC News, prior to Wednesday's incident there had been seven carriage-horse-related incidents in the last 13 months within the park's vicinity. Those included one in January where a horse dashed into traffic and crashed into cars, according to the Central Park Conservancy.
The conservancy renewed its calls to ban horse-drawn carriages from the park following Mahajan's death. "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 in a statement.
The TWU pushed back against those calls. Kemp said the union supported some reforms, including "enhanced driving training, tougher examinations with a practical component demonstrating proficiency, and rules governing the introduction of new horses into the business." An investigation into Wednesday's incident is ongoing.
