Teen killed in NYC carriage horse crash was on family’s first trip to US: ‘They are very devastated’
The teen tourist tragically killed in a horse carriage crash had booked the ride with his family so they could take in the iconic Central Park sights during their first trip to the United States.
Romanch Mahajan, 18, his parents and his 11-year-old brother had arrived from India for a dream vacation just three days before the teen was tossed from a buggy when the horse got spooked, his aunt , Sovia Thukral, told The Post Friday.
“They are very devastated, imagine they just come to visit and it’s their first time in America and they never expected that this is what they’re going to face,” Thukra said.
“It’s really heartbreaking.”
Thukral said her brother — Mahajan’s father — called from Central Park in a panic right after Wednesday’s tragedy.
His voice was wavering and he couldn’t speak properly when he told Thukral his son was not responding.
The family’s Central Park excursion went horribly wrong when the unattended horse, named Sampson, bolted while the group was posing for pictures.
The driver, Ertan Gokdepe, had asked the family to return to the carriage so he could take their photo when the horse began inching forward, said Thukral.
As Gokdepe attempted to restrain the horse, the animal suddenly took off.
Mahajan’s mother, Priya, fell off the buggy first.
“And then my nephew, he saw his mom falling off and he said mama and by the time he could pick up himself, control his body to jump, he fell off from the carriage,” said Thukral.
The father, after seeing his wife and older son fall, held “his younger son tightly like a seatbelt.”
Thukral said that Mahajan’s death was “totally negligence” and that he was about to begin studying at one of India’s top universities, learning that he was admitted the first day he was in the States.
She added that the family would have never asked for a photo if they knew that regulations strictly prohibit leaving the horse and carriage unattended.
“Have we known that, have we known this is the rule that they’re not supposed to leave the horse unattended we would have never agreed to it.”
Sampson has been retired, and all horse and carriage operations in Central Park have been shut down until Tuesday as part of a “safety stand-down” called by the Transport Workers Union of America Local 100 union Friday.
Drivers are expected to attend meetings that will review safety rules and protocols, including securing and maintaining control of carriage horses at all time, the union said.
Mahajan’s death has sparked a new wave of calls from animal activists and city lawmakers for an outright ban on horse carriages.
