The family of a teenager who died after being thrown from a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park says it plans to sue New York City, renewing calls to ban the carriage industry during a memorial held Monday near the site of the crash.
Family, friends and supporters gathered to remember 18-year-old Romanch Mahajan 40 days after his death. His father, Deepak Mahajan, joined the memorial by phone from India as relatives offered an Ardas, a Sikh prayer.
“It’s a really hard thing to lose a son in front of our eyes. It’s very difficult,” Deepak Mahajan said.
The family’s attorney, Ali Najmi, said he plans to file a notice of claim against the city by the end of the week, alleging wrongful death.
“They’re the proprietor of this park and this roadway and these incidents are foreseeable. Horses have bolted in the past. People have gotten hurt in the past,” Najmi said.
According to investigators, Mahajan was thrown from a horse-drawn carriage after the driver got out to take a photograph, violating industry rules. Police said the horse became spooked and ran, causing the carriage to overturn.
“There should be a proper mechanism to stop a horse, take a picture, to use a feathering pile to tie the horse down so it doesn’t run. There are procedures that could have been in place that were not,” Najmi said.
Mahajan’s family has also thrown its support behind legislation that would ban horse-drawn carriages from operating in Central Park. The proposal, originally named after a carriage horse killed on the job, has since been renamed Romanch’s Law.
“He’s our angel who is protecting us, who is not just the voice for us, but for the animals. Since childhood he has always loved animals,” said his aunt, Sovia Thukral.
The bill has the support of the City Council speaker and was the subject of a recent City Council hearing.
Christina Hansen, a longtime horse carriage driver and spokeswoman for the industry, attended the memorial and said opponents of the industry were using the tragedy to push the legislation.
“This has been a decades-long project by the animal rights activists, and they’re exploiting this tragedy to try to advance the bill in a hurry. The hearing last week was a sham,” Hansen said.
Hansen said she agreed with several of Najmi’s concerns about the lack of infrastructure in Central Park to safely secure horses when drivers leave their carriages.
In a statement, a City Hall spokesperson said:
“Our heart goes out to the Mahajan family, and we are deeply troubled by the heartbreaking tragedy they have experienced. We look forward to working with City Council, union partners, carriage drivers, animal welfare advocates, and community leaders to deliver a just transition that protects workers while ending horse-drawn carriages in Central Park once and for all.”