QUEENS, NY — The family of a 16-year-old boy who had to be rescued from the Queensboro Bridge after falling 50 feet down a shaft has said he was “left to die” when his friends ran off and are demanding an investigation.
In a petition posted to Change.org, the family says 16-year-old Frankie was “abandoned and left to die during their worst and most traumatic moment of their life.”
The family is accusing the teen’s friends of recording the incident and posting the video online instead of calling for help.
The teen is believed to have gotten stuck after he allegedly planned to post his stunt on TikTok, police said.
He was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell in critical condition.
The family says that Frankie’s survival is “nothing short of a miracle.” The teen still faces a long road of surgeries, recovery, rehabilitation and a long list of medical bills.
The petition is demanding that police investigate and charge the teen’s friends who “left the victim for hours to rot”on the bridge. A separate fundraiser was created to help cover emergency care, surgeries, hospital stays and rehabilitation.
As of Thursday, the petition has over 900 signatures.