VIDEO: Horse Carriage Ride Turns Deadly

A runaway carriage, a dead tourist, and a poisoned horse have turned Central Park’s “romantic” rides into a deadly policy test.

Story Snapshot

An 18-year-old tourist died after being thrown from a runaway carriage in Central Park
Just days earlier, a Central Park carriage horse collapsed and died after eating a toxic Japanese yew plant
Unions blame park design and plants; activists say the entire carriage trade is the real hazard
The fight now is whether to fix rules and landscaping or phase out horse carriages altogether

A family photo turned into a fatal fall in seconds

Police say an 18-year-old tourist, visiting New York City with his family, died after a Central Park carriage horse bolted and sent him flying from the carriage onto the pavement near West 67th Street.^[2]

A family of four had just gotten back into the carriage when the horse, named Sampson, suddenly took off. Video shows the horse running loose as the carriage rocks onto two wheels, passengers scrambling, then the cab toppling after clipping another carriage.^[4]

An 18-year-old man died after a Central Park carriage horse got loose and took off in the park on Wednesday afternoon. https://t.co/CWT1rGhp0q pic.twitter.com/Pmc1GuoRKR

— Action News on 6abc (@6abc) June 18, 2026

Union officials say the driver had stepped away from the horse to take a photo of the family, leaving the animal “at least at arm’s length” when it spooked and ran.^[2]

That detail matters more than any viral clip. Leaving a hitched horse unattended is a basic, avoidable safety failure. From a common-sense view, that is not an “act of nature”; it is a breakdown in discipline and enforcement inside a business that profits from public space.

One dead teen, one dead horse, and a fight over what it proves

The teenager, identified as Romanch Mahajan, was rushed to NewYork–Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in critical condition and later died of his injuries.^[2] No one else in the carriage suffered serious harm, and the horse itself was found uninjured near Tavern on the Green.^[3]

Union leaders say the horse had only been working in the park for six weeks, which lets them frame the incident as a freak event, not proof that seasoned carriage horses are out of control by nature.^[4]

Eight days earlier, another Central Park carriage horse named Deniz collapsed and died while pulling a carriage near East 90th Street.^[2] A necropsy by Cornell University veterinarians found “abundant” Japanese yew needles and plant material in his mouth and stomach, enough to be lethal.^[1]

The Transport Workers Union, which represents carriage drivers, seized on that finding, arguing that Deniz was killed by a toxic ornamental shrub planted along a curb on a regular carriage route.^[1]

Poisonous landscaping or an outdated industry?

Japanese yew is not some rare exotic. It is a common landscaping shrub in the United States and is highly toxic to horses, dogs, and even people if eaten.^[2]

Cornell’s pathologist reported that less than a pound and a half of plant matter could be fatal to a horse of Deniz’s size.^[2] According to the union, Deniz stopped during a ride, grabbed a mouthful from a shrub along the curb, then soon trembled, collapsed, and died—classic signs of yew poisoning.^[1]

The Central Park Conservancy, which manages the park, has pushed back. Its leaders fault the driver, stressing that park rules already forbid horses from grazing and require drivers to keep control at all times.^[2]

From their side, the problem is not the plant but the person holding the reins. Animal-welfare advocates see it differently. To them, a lethal shrub next to a carriage route and a panicked horse bolting with tourists aboard point to the same root issue: horses and dense urban parks no longer mix.

The bigger question: regulate harder, or call it quits?

Horse-drawn carriages in New York City already sit under a web of rules. Different city agencies oversee animal health, business licensing, and street safety.^[23]

Supporters say that with better training, stricter enforcement, and fixes like removing toxic plants, the industry can stay both charming and safe. They point to the fact that until now, Central Park had never seen a passenger death from a carriage ride, despite thousands of trips.^[4]

Opponents counter that it always looks “safe” right up until the moment a horse drops in the street or a tourist dies. Animal-welfare groups argue that urban carriages create steady risk: loud traffic, hard pavement, crowded paths, heat, and stressed prey animals hitched to heavy vehicles.^[19]

They push for electric carriages or other options that give tourists their photo-op without tying it to a large, easily spooked animal whose panic can turn deadly in seconds.

What accountability should look like now

A serious debate about public safety and animal welfare should not start from slogans. It should start with facts and responsibility.

In Mahajan’s death, that means asking why a driver broke basic safety practice to snap a picture and why that rule-breaking went unchecked until it killed a customer. In Deniz’s case, it means asking why a known toxic plant lined a horse route and who signed off on that landscaping choice.^[1]^[2]

If New York chooses to keep horse carriages, then rules on driver conduct, route design, and park plants need teeth, not press releases. If lawmakers decide the trade has had its day, they should say so plainly, provide a clear phase-out plan, and stop hiding behind the idea that two “isolated” tragedies do not mean the system is failing.