NYC: One Killed, One Injured While Train Surfing, On the #6 in the Bronx Options

[NickG]

From News 12 in New York:

11/14/03) THE BRONX - A 22-year-old NJ man was killed while apparently train surfing on the Number 6 train in the Bronx.

According to NYC transit officials, the 22-year-old and a 21-year-old man were trying to train surf on the Number 6 train at the Morrison-Soundview Train Station Friday morning. The 21-year-old is in critical condition at Jacobi Medical Center.

The full story is here.

[KevinKorell]

It doesn't take much, but this particular version of the story really bothered me. From Newark Star-Ledger, 11/15/03:

Sussex man, 20, dies in subway accident

A 20-year-old Sussex County man was killed and his friend critically injured in New York City yesterday while apparently riding atop a moving subway train, a stunt known as "skylarking," authorities said.

Full story here.

The slant you get from this piece of fine journalism is that it was the train's fault that these two individuals were either killed or injured. The article continuously refers to the incident as an "accident" --- it was NO accident, as these two rocket scientists climbed up on top of the subway train of their own free will. And they keep referring to the two train surfers as "victims", as if the big bad mean train and its crew, as well as the overpass, were out to get them.

[EllisSimon]

Kevin -

The headline writer could have made the situation clearer by writing "man dies in accident ON subway." Nevertheless, the incident was still an accident. Even though these morons put themselves in grave danger through their actions, their intent wasn't to do bodily harm to themselves; it was merely to get some kicks. Hence the outcome was an "accident" just as if a kid climbed on a counter to reach a cookie jar and broke it. There are all kinds of behaviors where people behave stupidly and have accidents: driving while intoxicated, taking illicit drugs, jaywalking, etc.

Your argument raises in interesting problem from the point of view of the journalist. If the reporter decides that an incident like this was NOT an accident isn't he putting a value judgement on the event and thereby compromising his or her objectivity? You or I may make those kinds of value judgement on an individual basis, but the reporter's position preclude him from doing so if he or she is to live up to the canons of journalism.

And as for concluding that these fools were the victim of a "big bad mean train," someone would have to make a pretty big stretch, consider that the first sentence of the story reported that this happened "while apparently riding atop a moving subway train." I don't think even O.J. Simpson's "dream team" of lawyers could make a case for banning subways to stop people from riding on top of them.

[NickG]

From the New York Daily News:

The second of two Bronx college students who smashed into a metal bridge Friday while joyriding on top of an elevated subway train died yesterday - a day after his buddy was buried.

Doctors at Jacobi Medical Center said 21-year-old Brian Hochstetter lost his battle for life early in the afternoon.

This sad story is here.