{"id":6187,"date":"2026-06-17T15:56:50","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T22:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7710065\/a-central-park-carriage-horse-breaks-free-and-critically-injures-a-passenger\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T18:00:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T01:00:15","slug":"teenager-dies-after-being-thrown-from-horse-drawn-carriage-in-nycs-central-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6187\/teenager-dies-after-being-thrown-from-horse-drawn-carriage-in-nycs-central-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Teenager dies after being thrown from horse-drawn carriage in NYC’s Central Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 A teenager thrown to the ground Wednesday when a Central Park carriage horse bolted away<\/a> from its driver has died, according to police.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old was riding in the horse-drawn carriage with three other passengers when the accident happened just before 3 p.m., according to the New York Police Department. At least two passengers were sent flying out of the careening cab.<\/p>\n

The teenager was initially hospitalized in critical condition. The other passengers refused medical treatment.<\/p>\n

A representative for the Transport Workers Union, which represents carriage industry employees, said the driver had dismounted to take a photograph of his passengers, which they are not supposed to do. <\/p>\n

The horse had been in the park for only six weeks, according to Alexander Kemp, the administrative vice president of the union’s local chapter. He said he wants a full investigation.<\/p>\n

\u201cSafety 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,” he said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Video showed the horse sprinting through the park as two people appeared to jump from the four-wheeled carriage. A second video<\/a> shows the cab toppling over after clipping the wheels of another carriage on the park’s busy loop.<\/p>\n

It’s a fraught moment for Central Park’s 150-year-old horse-drawn carriage industry. The industry has long been seen as a quaint attraction that offers tourists a romantic remnant of a bygone New York, while providing hundreds of jobs to drivers, along with many farm and racing horses. But they are now facing the growing threat<\/a> of a ban from opponents who say the rides are both inhumane to horses and a danger to city residents.<\/p>\n

Wednesday’s event follows several recent horse-related problems in the park, including the fatal collapse of a horse last week.<\/p>\n

The Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit which operates the park and came out last summer<\/a> in support of banning horse-drawn carriages, said the back-to-back events should bring an end to the industry. <\/p>\n

\u201cA young man came to enjoy our park and lost his life,\u201d the group said in a statement. \u201cThat is not an acceptable cost of an antiquated industry operating in the middle of one of the most heavily used public spaces in America.\u201d<\/p>\n

Central Park is nearly 850 acres and attracts millions of people every year. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 A teenager thrown to the ground Wednesday when a Central Park carriage horse bolted away from its driver has died, according to police. The 18-year-old was riding in the horse-drawn carriage with three other passengers when the accident happened just before 3 p.m., according to the New York Police Department. At […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":6189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"guid":"d00d0c5c-aedf-4322-a005-efb74eead2b5","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"Jake Offenhartz","published":"2026-06-17 15:56:50","updated":"2026-06-17 17:52:23","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1303,1304],"tags":[],"region":[],"class_list":["post-6187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-world"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6187\/teenager-dies-after-being-thrown-from-horse-drawn-carriage-in-nycs-central-park\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Teenager dies after being thrown from horse-drawn carriage in NYC’s Central Park","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6187\/teenager-dies-after-being-thrown-from-horse-drawn-carriage-in-nycs-central-park\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/6187\/teenager-dies-after-being-thrown-from-horse-drawn-carriage-in-nycs-central-park\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-cc70d0ac8f08b188d81817cb6d4edabba41f17e49833c2f61bc839ef66bb2b70.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-cc70d0ac8f08b188d81817cb6d4edabba41f17e49833c2f61bc839ef66bb2b70.jpg"},"articleSection":"International","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwheels","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-06-17T22:56:50Z","datePublished":"2026-06-17T22:56:50Z","dateModified":"2026-06-18T01:00:15Z"},"rendered":"