17-year-old dies attempting viral subway surfing challenge

Four teenagers attempted the viral subway surfing challenge, resulting in one death and another life-threatening injury.

On Saturday, October 26, four teenagers in Vienna, Austria attempted social media’s viral subway surfing challenge.

While doing so, two of the participants turned to look at their friends who were recording the incident. In a split second, they both struck their heads on a low-hanging bridge. 

The two teens were rushed to the hospital where one was declared brain dead. Three days later, the 17-year-old’s parents took him off life support. The other teen, who is 18 years old, remains in critical condition with a severe head injury.

The two teens were with two others while attempting the subway surfing trend, which challenges participants to ride on top of a moving train. At the time of the accident, the train was reportedly going 30+ MPH.

Following the incident, one of the unharmed passengers shared a clip of the accident on social media. The footage showed the teenagers lying down atop the moving train. 

When the train neared its stop, one of the participants shouted: “No, no, no, no!” However, the warning was too late.

The camera continued to roll, though, showing the teens’ bloodied injuries as they uncontrollably twitched from the severity.

Passengers waiting at the platform for the train to come could reportedly be heard screaming in disbelief.

With subway surfing on the rise, a Rail Chief representative urged participants to never risk their lives for a social media trend. “No TikTok video, no example of courage or selfie in the world is worth climbing on a subway or tram and risking one’s life,” they said. “If you notice a dangerous situation, please immediately operate the emergency call facilities in the vehicles or on the platform.”

The teenager’s death is one of a few recent deaths attributed to social media’s subway surfing challenge. On October 23 and 27, two young adults died in New York City while attempting the challenge. After a 2023 subway surfing death, a grieving parent even filed a lawsuit, saying that TikTok “targeted” her son.