A teenager’s death after being thrown from a horse carriage in Central Park has prompted the age-old New York City attraction to shut down temporarily.
The union representing the carriage drivers, TWU Local 100, suspended operations after Romanch Mahajan, an 18-year-old tourist from India, was killed by blunt force trauma after jumping from a runaway carriage on Wednesday.
TWU Local 100 Administrative Vice President Alexander Kemp said the carriage group is “gutted and stunned by this tragedy” and has “never had a fatal accident like this before.”
“We have shuttered the stables and ceased operations today while we have extensive internal discussions of safety protocols and how they can be improved,” he said in a Thursday statement.
Mr. Mahajan is believed to be the first person to die in a horse carriage accident since the service began in Central Park over 150 years ago, according to the union and the Central Park Conservancy.
The teenager and his family were taking a carriage ride in Manhattan’s park when the horse became frightened and ran after the driver exited the vehicle to take a picture.
The union, which represents 165,000 transit workers, has put its full support behind Queens Councilman James Gennaro’s bill introduced last week, which would enact new safety protocols, such as hitching posts throughout the park for drivers to tether their horses.
The industry was already under intense scrutiny when Mr. Mahajan died.
Just days before, another horse collapsed and died in Central Park after eating a poisonous plant. Last month, a carriage overturned, injuring a driver. Multiple runaway horse incidents also occurred on Memorial Day.
Mr. Mahajan’s death has also intensified calls to put an end to the industry.
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Ryder’s Law, a proposed New York City legislative package, aims to phase out the city’s carriage industry after a horse collapsed and died in 2022.
Central Park Conservancy, animal welfare groups PETA and NYCLASS, and city leaders are behind the push to ban the service.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would work with the City Council and industry and animal rights advocates to “deliver a just transition that protects workers while ending horse-drawn carriages in Central Park once and for all.”
