Teen tourist thrown to death by Central Park horse was trying to save mom who flew out carriage during family's first visit to Big Apple

By EMMA RICHTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 14:56, 18 June 2026 | Updated: 14:59, 18 June 2026 The tourist who was thrown to his death during a Central Park horse ride was trying to save his mom during what was supposed to be a fun first-time trip to the Big Apple.  Romanch Mahajan, 18, was riding in one of the city's iconic horse-drawn carriages with his mother, father, and little brother, when tragedy struck just before 3pm on Wednesday.  The carriage driver had stopped to take a photo of the family, who were visiting from India, when the horse suddenly bolted with all of them inside, Deepak Mahajan, the teen's father, told The New York Times.  'We were yelling, "Help me, help me!",' his distraught father recalled to the outlet.   Deepak said he and his family clung to each other, but as the carriage stormed down the pavement, his wife, Priya, flew out, and Romanch immediately jumped out to save her.  'My son, just to save his mother, he fell off. He was screaming, "Mom!",' Deepak, 44, told the NYT.  As Romanch did so, he hit his head on the ground. He was pronounced dead on Wednesday night at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. Romanch Mahajan, 18, died on Wednesday in New York City after he flew out of a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park  Breaking news.. updates to follow.   No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.