Teen’s arm severed below elbow after ‘subway surfing’ and falling off NYC train

A teen who climbed on top of a New York City subway train while trying to “subway surf” fell and severed his arm below the elbow Monday morning.

The teen, 15-year-old Hamza Mohamed, was with friends trying to scale the subway car, the New York Daily News reported.

Mr. Mohamed and three friends were attempting to ride on the exterior of the R train, or “subway surf,” at the Roosevelt Avenue-Jackson Heights station Monday morning.

Mr. Mohamed successfully climbed to the top, but lost his balance and fell onto the tracks at about 10:20 a.m.

On the tracks, he was struck by the same train he had been attempting to surf, resulting in his left arm being severed, the paper said.

“Usually when you’re subway surfing, you have to get off the train before the tunnel. He must’ve missed that point,” a transit worker who witnessed the incident and preferred to remain anonymous told the New York Post.

The worker also noted that Mr. Mohamed went into shock, telling the New York Post that “He was just looking around like nothing happened. He didn’t cry or nothing.”

Passengers also witnessed the incident.

“I got off the F train, and I saw the police putting up the tape and the actual body on the floor. … I saw face, blood, a person slumped over, and I just left,” witness Christian Mojica told WABC-TV.

Commuter Jorge Seans told WCBS-TV, “When you’re a younger person, you don’t have limits, even for a dangerous situation.”

Authorities continue to denounce and disapprove of the “subway surfing” trend, having previously implemented a $75 fine for attempts.

“Riding outside of subway cars is reckless and extremely dangerous. This behavior can result in awful consequences, as it likely has for the young man who was severely injured on Monday,” Metropolitan Transit Authority Chief Safety Officer Pat Warren said in a statement to WCBS-TV.

Mr. Mohamed was taken to Bellevue Hospital, and the arm had to be amputated. He is currently in stable condition.

“We’re terribly sad over what happened. I don’t know the kids he was with. We really don’t know how this could have happened,” the victim’s father, Yousif Mohamed, told the New York Daily News.