An 18-year-old visitor from India, Romanch Mahajan, died after a horse-drawn carriage ran out of control in Central Park, New York, collided with another carriage, and overturned. Mahajan fell from the carriage, was critically injured, and later died in hospital.
New York City police said the investigation is still ongoing and that it remains unclear what frightened the horse. According to preliminary information cited by the local carriage drivers' association, the driver may have stepped away slightly from the horse in order to photograph the passengers.
The accident has reignited the debate over horse carriages in New York City. The Central Park Conservancy said it was stunned by Mahajan's death, adding, “We are completely devastated to hear that Romanch Mahajan, the 18-year-old visitor injured in the carriage incident, has died from his injuries.”
The conservancy again called for a ban on the rides, saying this was the eighth horse-related incident in the Central Park area in the past 13 months.