The Deadly Lure of Subway Surfing


Natalie Keyssar for The New York Times

For more than a century, people have climbed on top of moving trains in search of a thrill. Now social media has attracted a new generation of daredevils.

By Andrew Keh and Ana Ley
Dec. 16, 2024

On a late spring afternoon, two boys celebrating the last day of sixth grade set out through their New York City neighborhood in search of an adventure.

It arrived in the form of a subway train screeching into the Church Avenue station in Brooklyn. The boys, Donald Munoz and William Layden, hoisted themselves onto the roof of one of the cars and were soon careening north, the warm air whipping across their faces.

But their escapade was brief. Near the next station, they clipped an overpass and were flung onto the tracks. The impact fractured both boys’ skulls, and Donald died that day. He was 11 years old. William, 12, was taken to Kings County Hospital, unconscious.

The year was 1938. But it could have been any year. … Recent news reports typically trace the reckless act of riding atop a train car in New York City — known as subway surfing — back to the 1980s and blame sensational videos on social media, taken by bystanders and the surfers themselves, for a recent rise in popularity.

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Susan C. Beachy contributed research.
Andrew Keh covers New York City and the surrounding region for The Times. More about Andrew Keh

Ana Ley is a Times reporter covering New York City’s mass transit system and the millions of passengers who use it. More about Ana Ley

A version of this article appears in print on Dec. 22, 2024, Section MB, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: The Deadly Lure of Subway Surfing. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe