A teenage tourist was k!lled when a carriage horse he was riding in got startled and bolted in Central Park.
The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon, June 17, after the operator got out to take a photo of the passengers, cops and sources said.
The trip through the park took a terrifying turn for the group, who came into New York from India, when the coachman left his post near 71st Street and Centre Drive around 2:45 p.m.
The carriage-horse driver was at least an arm’s length from his horse to take a photo of his passengers when the animal became spooked and took off, according to sources and the Transit Workers Union.
“The horse got scared and ran super fast,” Tatianna Bresler, who works at the Tavern on the Green, told The Post.
Bresler, who called 911 as soon as she saw the crash and heard screaming, said a witness was able to slow down the runaway horse before the carriage flipped.
“The immediate reaction was just like ‘oh my god, oh my god my god’ like covering my eyes because I thought maybe someone had gotten smushed or something I couldn’t even imagine, and then I called 911,” the 20-year-old said.
The teen passenger, Romanch Mahajan, was thrown from the carriage and hit his head, the sources said.
The carriage then hit the wheel of another carriage and toppled to the ground, the TWU added.
Dramatic video from the scene shows the operator sprinting after the swiftly moving carriage, as Mahajan drops to the ground.
Mahajan was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he later di£d.
The other two passengers did not report any injuries, the sources said.
A video of the horse breaking free and the carriage driver chasing after it has been shared online.
The operator caught up to the fleeing horse slightly further south in the iconic green space, near Tavern on the Green, according to the sources.
The 7-year-old horse, named Sampson, appeared to be in stable condition and uninjured, cops and the union said.
“This is unacceptable. A driver is not supposed to leave the carriage to take photos – ever. We support a full investigation,” TWU Local 100 Administrative VP Alexander Kemp said in a statement to The Post.
“We are devastated that a passenger di£d after injuries suffered today in the accident in Central Park, and our thoughts and prayers are with the victim’s family,” Kemp said.
“It’s our understanding that the carriage owner has suspended the driver indefinitely and the horse will be retired from the business,” the statement continued.
The union also called out safety issues inside the park.
“Safety in the park has been a growing concern among many, and improvements are needed to be made with respect to all vehicles, including e-bicycles, delivery vehicles, pedicabs, and horse-drawn carriages,” said Kemp.
Helen David, a pedicab driver in Central Park, rushed over to the chaotic scene to find the victim’s “distraught” family.
“I saw the paramedics. I saw the ambulance. I saw everybody’s trying to, like, assist the person. You know, trying to put them on a stretcher,” David said.
Wednesday’s tragedy reignited the long-standing push by activists and some lawmakers to ban horse carriages in New York.
See the video below.
Here’s a video of the horse breaking free and the carriage driver chasing after it.
A person comes jumping/falling out of the carriage at the end of the clip. pic.twitter.com/BZmEOXqhxC
— Gus Saltonstall (@GusSaltonstall) June 17, 2026