“There’s a Limit:” Mother Raises Concern Over Deadly Subway Surfing Trend After Horrifying Fate of 15-Year-Old Son

Desikan Thirunarayanapuram works as a news editor for the Washington Post. He had covered the recent spike in ‘subway surfing’ fatalities in major cities. Moreover, the editor also talked with a few teenagers caught in this craze. Now, one beloved member of his own family has fallen victim to the silly trend in a strange coincidence. He was at work and trying to reach out to his 15-year-old son when he got the tragic news.

Both Desikan Thirunarayanapuram and his wife, Vaishali Honawar, were constantly calling their son Jay Thirunarayanapuram to learn about his whereabouts. Vaishali Honawar was worried that something bad had happened to him and received the confirmation in a police house call.

Subway surfing takes another life

When Vaishali Honawar heard the doorbell ring, she rushed to the door, thinking it was her son. However, it was two detectives from the Maryland Metro Transit police department standing at the doorstep. As soon as she saw them, the concerned mother began panicking. The detectives sat her down and informed her that Jay Thirunarayanapuram’s body was found beside the subway tracks near Rhode Island Avenue station. Honawar spoke to the Washington Post, saying, “There’s a limit to what parents can do”. Jay Thirunarayanapuram developed a taste for the dangerous trend because of his childhood obsession with thrilling activities. The parents tried to dissuade him from participating in risky behaviors and even put him in therapy.

Jay Thirunarayanapuram had turned 15 just five days before his life suddenly ended. The grieving mother called her husband, who rushed home with tears running down his cheek. The detectives plainly told the parents that the boy had been subway surfing on top of a metro train and filming his tricks for social media. However, he lost his footing and fell on the track leading to his tragic demise.

Thirunarayanapuram could not believe that his son was gone and thought that the police had made a mistake. Unfortunately, the police had made no errors in identifying the victim. It was indeed Jay whom the couple had adopted from India when the boy was just 6 years old. The parents have acknowledged that the boy died because of his own foolhardiness. Now they are on a mission to stop this trend with whatever measures are necessary so that another young life is not lost in this manner.

Stricter measures urged by Jay Thirunarayanapuram’s parents

In 2021, the MTA reported 206 subway surfing cases, but that number rose to 928 in 2022. This year there are more teenagers subway surfing in Maryland than ever before. Richard Davey, the MTA president, said, “Social media is clearly playing a role in glorifying this incredibly dangerous and in some instances life-losing activity”. Now Jay Thirunarayanapuram’s parents are asking the social media sites to take responsibility and stop the spread of this trend.

Read More: Days After Teenager’s Tragic Fate, Fatal Subway Surfing Trend Claims Another Young Victim

Vaishali Honawar said, “We need the social media companies to step up. We need Metro to step up so that we can all work together to stop this”. The MTA agency has responded to her call. They have assured her that they monitor the CCTV cameras in the metro and work with law enforcement agencies to curb this trend. Now it remains to be seen if these safeguards will be effective in stopping the spread of this dangerous trend.

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