NEW YORK — The MTA is investigating whether a subway operator allowed multiple minors to try their hand at driving a train, after videos to that effect circulated on social media last week. Two videos, posted to two separate social media accounts and reviewed by the New York Daily News, each show a young man at the helm of two different R160 train cars, operating above ground in broad ...
BROOKLYN- NY- 02/21/2023- An MTA J Line subway is seen on Hewes Street Station In Brooklyn street Wednesday afternoon.
Luiz C. Ribeiro/New York Daily News/Luiz C. Ribeiro
NEW YORK — The MTA is investigating whether a subway operator allowed multiple minors to try their hand at driving a train, after videos to that effect circulated on social media last week.
Two videos, posted to two separate social media accounts and reviewed by the New York Daily News, each show a young man at the helm of two different R160 train cars, operating above ground in broad daylight.
In each video, the same train operator can be seen standing alongside the young men as they pilot the train.
“Go, go, go, go, it’s green,” the transit worker says to one boy as he approaches an empty platform at 111th Street on the J train in Richmond Hill, Queens. The boy then proceeds to press a button honking the train’s horn.
It’s unclear when the videos were taken. Sources told the Daily News that transit officials suspect the guided joyrides were made during the morning when the trains were not in service and were being moved into position from a yard.
Asked about the videos, an MTA spokesman sent a statement from NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow, indicating the agency was looking into the incidents.
“The videos are under investigation, but they appear to depict unauthorized activity that violates NYC Transit’s rules,” Crichlow said. “Any employees involved will face serious disciplinary charges up to termination.”
The videos come amid a long line of break-ins and joyrides by a small group of young subway enthusiasts.
Several minors have been arrested multiple times this year for allegedly breaking into parked subway trains, powering them up and taking them for a ride. In many cases, the minors are accused of gaining access to the trains with keys stolen from transit workers.
In February a 15-year-old boy — who is not thought to be involved in the videos that came to light last week — set off a metal detector at a Bronx high school with a backpack full of allegedly stolen MTA gear. He was arrested on suspicion of participating in at least eight train-related trespasses.
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