Teen dies after being found unconscious on top of a New York City subway train

NEW YORK — A teenager found unconscious on top of a New York City subway train early Friday morning has died.

New York City Police were called to the Queensboro Plaza Subway Station at 2:47 a.m. and discovered the unresponsive 15-year-old male, a NYPD spokesperson said.

The boy was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The incident remains under investigation.

More than a dozen New Yorkers, many of them young boys, have been killed or badly injured in recent years while attempting to “subway surf,” or lie on top of moving subway cars. The practice dates back a century but has been supercharged by social media.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority has asked social media companies to take down videos glamorizing subway surfing, which is illegal. Also, authorities have tried to address the problem with public awareness campaigns and by deploying drones to catch thrill-seekers in the act.