NEW YORK — A young man from India who was killed when a Central Park carriage horse bolted from its driver was on a family trip celebrating his high school graduation and died trying to save his mother.
Romanch Mahajan, 18, jumped out of the carriage after his mother fell out and hit his head on the ground, his father, Deepak Mahajan, told The New York Times.
“He was screaming, ‘Mom!’” the young man’s father told the newspaper.
Mahajan said he, his wife and younger son escaped with minor injuries, though their carriage clipped another horse-drawn vehicle and toppled over.
The family arrived in New York from India on Monday, the day Romanch learned he had been accepted to a university in Jaipur. They had spent the day visiting many of the city’s popular tourist attractions and were unwinding on a carriage ride when the driver got off to photograph them. Moments later, the accident occurred.
“This incident should be taken very seriously,” Mahajan said. “It took my son’s dream away.”
The company that owns the carriage involved in the fatal crash has also suspended the driver indefinitely, and the horse will be retired from the business, according to the union representing the industry.
“We’re absolutely gutted and stunned by this tragedy. We’ve never had a fatal accident like this before,” said Alexander Kemp, a vice president with the Transport Workers Union Local 100, the labor union representing carriage drivers and owners. “We have shuttered the stables and ceased operations today while we have extensive internal discussions of safety protocols and how they can be improved.”
The Central Park Conservancy, which manages the 850-acre park, confirmed that Mahajan’s death is believed to be the first human fatality involving a horse carriage since they were introduced in Central Park more than 150 years ago.
The organization also called for the industry to be suspended until more protections could be put in place, noting that there have now been eight horse-related incidents in Central Park over the past 13 months.
“If any other activity in the Park posed a comparable risk to visitors, it would be suspended immediately while steps were taken to address those dangers,” the organization said in a statement Thursday.
The influential nonprofit revived the debate over the carriages when it weighed in on the issue for the first time last year, throwing its support behind a long-simmering bill that would ban horse carriages and help drivers transition into new jobs.
The organization argued that the carriages are a public safety hazard in the increasingly crowded park, noting that other U.S. cities, including Chicago and San Antonio, have also recently done away with the nostalgic rides.
New York City leaders, meanwhile, vowed to work to put an end to the 150-year-old industry in the wake of Mahajan’s death.
City Council leaders said they’d hold a hearing next month on Ryder’s Law, the bill backed by the conservancy.
“The time to act is now,” Council Speaker Julie Menin posted on the social platform X.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani also reiterated his support for ending the industry, a position he campaigned on last year. He said he’d work with the council, the industry and animal welfare advocates and to “deliver a just transition that protects workers while ending horse-drawn carriages in Central Park once and for all.”
Horse carriages, which cost about $72 for the first 20 minutes, were not running Thursday in the park, which sees millions of visitors every year.
The Transport Workers Union has opposed past efforts to wind down the industry. But on Thursday, it backed legislation introduced last week that would establish hitching posts throughout the park so drivers could safely tether and secure their horses, including at popular tourist photo stops.
The industry has long been seen as a quaint attraction that offers tourists a romantic remnant of a bygone New York, while providing hundreds of jobs to drivers, along with many farm and racing horses. Opponents, though, complain the rides are both inhumane to horses and a danger to people.
Marcelo and Ramer write for the Associated Press. Ramer reported from Concord, N.H.
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