13-year-old dies attempting TikTok’s subway surfing challenge

A teenager died at the scene after falling from a moving train while attempting a social media challenge. His mom has since spoken out, calling the trend “awful.”

13-year-old Adolfo Sanabria Sorzano died on Wednesday, October 23, after he attempted social media’s subway surfing challenge. The trend has become increasingly popular on both TikTok and Instagram.

Subway surfing challenges social media users to ride on top of moving trains rather than inside them. Those who attempt the challenge access the top of the train by exiting the carriage where it connects to another carrier.

At the time of Sorzano’s death, the teen was riding the M train in Queens, New York. According to the NYPD, Sorzano was found unconscious at the Forest Avenue subway station in Ridgewood around 10 PM.

Sorzano’s mom, Milene Sorzano, slammed social media’s subway surfing trend in a statement she made on a GoFundMe for her son’s funeral services, saying it was “awful.”

“It is with a broken heart that I ask for your support in this painful time,” wrote the teen’s mom. “My son Adolfo Sanabria Sorzano, only 13 years old, tragically lost his life while he was doing this awful TikTok challenge subway surfing in New York City.”

“Adolfo was a child full of life, with dreams and hopes, and his passing has left a void that is impossible to fill,” Sorzano’s mom added.

Following the teen’s death, the NYC Transit President, Demetrius Crichlow, released a statement, urging individuals not to take part in the subway surfing challenge.

“I implore anyone who thinks surfing trains is a game and parents, friends, and teachers who can persuade them otherwise, to understand the deadly risk and ride inside,” Crichlow said.

The teen’s death isn’t the first death caused by the viral subway surfing challenge, either. In February 2023, 15-year-old Zackery Nazario died after he hit his head on a low-hanging beam, falling between trains. 

Nazario’s mom, Norma Nazario, has since issued a lawsuit against TikTok, Instagram, and the MTA. In addition to compensation for “unspecified damages,” the teen’s mom urged the social media platforms to change their algorithms after they “encouraged” her son to attempt the subway surfing challenge.

“I’m not going to stop until the MTA and these social media companies start taking responsibility and stop killing our children,” she said.

At this time of writing, TikTok has not taken action to remove subway surfing videos that users have uploaded to the platform.