Teen tourist who was thrown to his death from Central Park horse was desperately trying to save mom’s life

He died a hero.

A teen tourist who was tragically thrown to his death from a Central Park horse carriage was reportedly trying to save his mother’s life after the animal bolted. 

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Romanch Mahajan, 18, a tourist from India, was taking in the Big Apple sites with his family when they booked an iconic horse-and-buggy ride and the spooked beast took off in a deadly, caught-on-video mishap.

“We were yelling, ‘Help me, help me!” the teen’s father, Deepak Mahajan, told the New York Times.

His wife, Priya, then fell from the carriage and Romanch jumped down to try to help her, the grieving dad told the outlet. 

“My son, just to save his mother, he fell off,” Deepak Mahajan said. “He was screaming, ‘Mom!’” 
Mahajan fell on the ground and struck his head.

He was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. 

The carriage driver had gotten out to take a picture of the family when the horse bolted, tearing up onto the sidewalk and accelerating on the grass.

Dramatic video footage shows the driver desperately chasing after the runaway carriage before the teen is thrown to the ground and the buggy crashes into the ground.

The incident is now under investigation, with the carriage driver’s union saying its members are never allowed to leave the carriage.

“It appears the driver was at least at arm’s length from his horse. This is unacceptable,” Alexander Kemp, a vice president at Transport Workers Union Local 100, said in a statement.

“A driver is not supposed to leave the carriage to take photos — ever. We support a full investigation,” he continued.

The union said the driver has been suspended, and the 7-year-old horse, Sampson, was retired from service. 

When reached at his Queens home, driver Ertan Gokdepe declined to comment, but a shop steward from the union who was with him spoke up on his behalf, saying: “He’s absolutely devastated.”

“He’s been driving a carriage for 20 years. Nothing like this has ever happened to him. Nothing like this has ever happened to our industry. So it’s just awful,” the rep said. 

He also worried that opponents of carriage horses will come after him.

“He’s worried about his family. These people that we’re dealing with aren’t normal people,” the rep said. 

Ryder’s Law, a bill to phase out horse carriages, was reintroduced to the City Council last week. The law is named after a carriage horse named Ryder, who collapsed while working on a hot August day in 2022.

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The City Council’s health panel refused to advance Ryder’s Law out of committee in November, despite support from equine activists and former Mayor Eric Adams. 

Hours before he left office, Adams signed an executive order mandating that the fleet of horse carriage drivers undergo regular veterinary inspections and be tested for drugs and injuries. 

The move came  weeks after city-hired veterinarian Dr. Kraig Kulikowski attempted to conduct “independent” testing on a sampling of a dozen carriage horses across three stables but was thwarted.

All 12 horses’ carriage owners refused “standard” follow-up tests such as trotting to evaluate possible lameness and blood testing for drugs such as painkillers, The Post previously reported.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was sworn into office in January, had expressed earlier support for the ban on the Central Park carriages, telling reporters, “I plan to deliver on that.”

However, his administration has not followed through. 

Manhattan Councilman Christopher Marte, a fierce opponent of horse-drawn carriages, issued a scathing statement after Wednesdays fatal accident.

“Enough is enough,” Marte said. “This is yet another serious and terrifying incident involving a carriage horse in Central Park, and it should make clear to everyone that delay is no longer defensible.”

The horse-carriage death comes about a week after a carriage horse named Deniz collapsed and died in Central Park, likely from consuming a toxic plant.

Deniz keeled over at Strawberry Fields around 7:30 p.m. June 9.

The horse’s death, described by onlookers as “agonizing,” occurred shortly after the animal began thrashing on the ground.

Only weeks before Deniz’s death, a coachman was injured when a spooked carriage horse charged into another horse-drawn carriage and caused it to overturn in Central Park.

Wednesday’s incident prompted a curt statement from PETA, which has long opposed the use of the horses for the amusement of tourists.

“From collapsing horses to careening carriages, how many more disasters have to strike before we get these beleaguered horses out of the park?” a spokesperson for the animal rights group said. 

“For everyone’s safety, PETA is calling on council members, Health Committee Chair Lynn Schulman, and Speaker Julie Menin to stop dithering and pass Ryder’s Law immediately,” the statement said. 

Meanwhile, community organizers have scheduled a vigil following the tragic crash, to be held at 10:45 a.m. Monday at the Cherry Hill Fountain.

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Additional reporting by Reuven Fenton