Horse carriage operations were suspended in Central Park one day after an 18-year-old was thrown to his death following a crash between two carriages. The Transport Workers Union, which oversees the horse carriage industry, made the announcement on Thursday afternoon. “We’ve never had a fatal accident like this before. We have shuttered the stables and ceased operations today while we have extensive internal discussions on what transpired and how it could have been prevented,” Alexander Kemp, administrative vice president of TWU Local 100, said in a statement. The immediate shutdown of Central Park operations comes after the death of Romanch Mahajan, the 18-year-old visiting the city from India with his family. Three other family members, including a child, were also inside the carriage when its horse bolted without a driver on Wednesday morning. Cell phone video captured the horse sprinting away from its driver, who reportedly stepped out of the carriage to take a photo of his passengers. The horse eventually collided with another horse carriage near Tavern on the Green, sending the carriage full of passengers tumbling to the ground. Police said Mahajan fell out, smacking his head against the pavement. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but ultimately died from his injuries. Officers said the rest of the family members inside the carriage only had minor injuries. Kemp said the union was “absolutely gutted and stunned by this tragedy,” and supported a bill introduced before the New York City Council that would require hitching posts be installed throughout the park for drivers to secure their horses. Another horse carriage driver worker said she received a call shortly after the crash and rushed to the scene to help out. Christina Hansen said she checked on the animal and tied the horse to a nearby pole. “I drove my horse over here, at that point this horse had flipped over a carriage,” Hansen said. “The horse is absolutely fine.” Hansen said she spoke to the driver of the runaway carriage, who had returned to the area where the horse bolted, and was “very, very shaken up.” Wednesday’s incident in Central Park comes one week after a 16-year-old horse named Deniz died from reportedly eating a toxic plant lining the park. The Central Park Conservancy referenced last week’s tragedy in its statement, reiterating their call to ban horse carriages in the park. “As details of today’s incident come into focus, our thoughts are with the injured. That this frightening situation is just days after the previous one underscores the dangers posed by horse carriages to Park visitors, carriage drivers, and the horses themselves,” the statement said. The recent incidents involving carriage horses has sparked renewed attention to Ryder’s Law, a bill under consideration by the New York City Council to wind down the industry in Central Park. ...read more read less