BART officials warn about dangers of ‘train surfing’ after second teenage death

For the second time in two weeks, a teenager has been killed while surfing on top of a BART train in San Francisco.

Now, BART and city leaders are calling for changes, including from social media companies where train surfing is promoted.

Both of the fatalities happened near the Balboa Park BART station. The most recent was on Sunday, when a 15-year-old, surfing a BART train, fell to his death.

On Jan. 29, a 19-year-old identified as Daniel Baran, also died after falling from a BART train. 

“Operations staff are looking into modifications to make it more difficult to go between the cars and get up there,” said BART in a statement. 

There is also a push for TikTok and other social media outlets to take down the videos glorifying train surfing. 

New York City transportation officials say incidents of train surfing have skyrocketed recently, and so have the number of injuries and deaths. 

And that’s prompted a very public campaign against the very dangerous practice, including this from Mayor Eric Adams.

“Subway surfing kills!” he said.

In the Bay Area, BART is also hoping to change the messaging about train surfing, saying, “There needs to be some engagement with social media companies.”

Some city leaders agree.

“A truly great TikTok is not worth your life,” said Supervisor Rafael Mandelman.

He calls the two recent deaths, “very worrying” and is also calling on parents to talk to their children, and friends to talk to each other, about the trouble on the tracks.

“I think, trying to raise awareness amongst San Franciscans that kids are doing this, and it’s very dangerous, and it is killing people,” said Mandelman.

About the Author

Yosi Yahoudai is a founder and the managing partner of J&Y. His practice is comprised primarily of cases involving automobile and motorcycle accidents, but he also represents people in premises liability lawsuits, including suits alleging dangerous conditions of public property, third-party criminal conduct, and intentional torts. He also has expertise in cases involving product defects, dog bites, elder abuse, and sexual assault. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of California and is admitted to practice in all California State Courts, and the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. If you have any questions about this article, you can contact Yosi by clicking here.