Horse-Drawn Carriage Accident in Central Park
The driver involved in a tragic horse-drawn carriage accident that resulted in the death of an 18-year-old tourist is reportedly “devastated,” as confirmed by a deputy on Thursday. In light of this event, all horse-drawn carriage rides in Central Park have been suspended.
“He’s completely heartbroken,” said Christina Hansen, a shopkeeper associated with the Transportation Workers Union Local 100, speaking outside the Queens residence of the carriage driver, Ertan Gökdepe.
“This is an unprecedented situation for him,” she added, highlighting that Gökdepe has been in the carriage business for two decades.
Romansh Mahajan, the 18-year-old victim from India, was visiting New York City with his family when they decided to take a carriage ride. Reports suggest that things went wrong when the seven-year-old horse, named Sampson, got startled as Gökdepe stepped out for a family photo.
The horse bolted, throwing Mahajan’s mother, Priya, from the carriage.
Mahajan’s father, Deepak, recounted to the New York Times, “My son fell just to save his mother.” He described how Mahajan was screaming, “Mom!” during the incident.
Sadly, Mahajan later succumbed to blunt force trauma, and the city medical examiner determined his death was accidental.
Alexander Kemp, Vice President of TWU Local 100, criticized the driver’s choice to exit the carriage. “Drivers should never get out of their vehicles to take photos,” he remarked, adding that thorough investigations are warranted.
Hansen noted that this incident has left the union in shock. “This is completely new territory for us. It’s hard to know how to respond since nothing like this has ever occurred in our industry. It’s just awful,” she expressed.
“We’ve never seen a fatality like this before,” Kemp reiterated.
As a consequence of the tragedy, the union shut down the stables and halted operations. In a statement to NBC NY, trainer Kemp mentioned, “Today we closed the stable and ceased operations to engage in an extensive internal review of the incident and explore ways to prevent such occurrences in the future.”
