A teenager has died after being thrown from a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park on Wednesday, according to the New York Police Department. The 18-year-old was riding with three other passengers when the horse bolted away from its driver just before 3 p.m.
At least two passengers were thrown from the careening cab. The teenager was hospitalized in critical condition and later died. The other passengers refused medical treatment.
The driver had dismounted to take a photograph of his passengers, which is against regulations, according to a representative for the Transport Workers Union, which represents carriage industry employees. Alexander Kemp, administrative vice-president of the union’s local chapter, said the horse had been in the park for only six weeks and called for a full investigation.
“Safety in the park has been a growing concern among many, and improvements are needed with respect to all vehicles, including e-bicycles, delivery vehicles, pedicabs and horse-drawn carriages,” Kemp said in a statement.
Video footage showed the horse sprinting through the park as two people jumped from the carriage. Another video showed the carriage toppling over after clipping the wheels of another carriage on the park’s busy loop.
The incident comes at a fraught time for Central Park’s 150-year-old horse-drawn carriage industry. Long seen as a quaint attraction offering tourists a romantic remnant of bygone New York, the industry provides hundreds of jobs for drivers and uses many farm and racing horses. However, opponents argue the rides are inhumane to horses and dangerous to city residents, pushing for a ban.
Wednesday’s event follows the fatal collapse of a horse in the park last week. The Central Park Conservancy, which operates the park and supports banning carriages, said these back-to-back incidents should end the industry.
“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 group said in a statement.
Central Park spans nearly 850 acres and attracts millions of visitors annually.
