An 18-year-old tourist from India died Wednesday after a horse carriage bolted and flipped in Central Park, authorities said.
Romanch Mahajan fell from the carriage at approximately 2:47 p.m. after the horse broke loose and bolted down West Drive, according to the New York Police Department. The runaway animal slammed into a second carriage and tipped over near Tavern on the Green.
Medics rushed Mahajan to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he later died.
“This is the tragedy we feared when we first called last year for horse carriages to be banned from Central Park due to the risks they pose to public safety and public health.”
No one else in the carriage suffered serious harm, law enforcement said.
Christina Hansen, a carriage driver who responded to a call about the wreck, hurried over and tied the loose animal to a pole. She said the driver of the runaway carriage had returned to the spot where the horse took off and was rattled.
An 18-year-old tourist from India died in a fall from a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park after the horse bolted. https://t.co/9FAV5HUJGc
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 18, 2026
TWU Local 100, the union representing carriage drivers in New York, placed responsibility on the driver’s alleged conduct. Union Administrative Vice President Alexander Kemp said the horse had worked in the park for just six weeks before it ran.
The carriage owner has since suspended the driver and will retire the animal.
Kemp said the driver allegedly left the carriage to take a photo of passengers when the horse bolted.
“A driver is not supposed to leave the carriage to take photos – ever,” Kemp said in a statement.
The NYPD said its investigation continues. The Central Park Conservancy used the death to press its case against the industry in a Wednesday press release.
“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,” a Conservancy spokesperson said.
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin and Councilmember Lynn Schulman extended their condolences to the teen’s loved ones in a statement Wednesday. They referenced Ryder’s Law, which targets the horse carriage industry, noting the council will have a hearing on the legislation in July.
