Horse carriage rides resume in Central Park week after tourist died in collision

Horse carriage operations started back up Tuesday in New York City's Central Park, less than one week after an 18-year-old tourist died in a collision that led drivers to voluntarily suspend business. 

Carriage drivers spent days going over safety rules and protocols in response to the death of Romanch Mahajan, who was fatally injured on a ride through the park with his family. 

TWU Local 100, the union representing carriage drivers, called for the temporary shutdown after the collision last Wednesday. Drivers went through refresher training and safety checks, the union said. 

A major part of the training centered on properly tethering and securing the horse when the driver is not in the carriage. 

The union said last week's accident reinforces their long-standing fight for hitching posts in Central Park to prevent future accidents when horses get startled and run off, which they believe is what happened before Mahajan's death. 

"We are outraged and bewildered that the City is allowing these rides to resume. The carriage industry itself has spent the past week insisting that major changes are needed to operate safely, yet these rides are already back on the streets," said Edita Birnkrant, executive director of New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets, which is pushing to permanently end the city's horse carriage industry.

Mahajan and his family were visiting from India when the horse pulling the carriage they were in bolted through Central Park. Mahajan was thrown to the ground.

The horse, named Sampson, is stabled and said to be doing OK, but is unlikely to return to pulling carriages. The investigation into exactly what caused the horse to stray is ongoing. 

"What started this incident on Wednesday is still under investigation from the NYPD. We do not know what spooked the horse. This was not something that was typical for this horse or really for any of our horses. So, we are, again, trying to figure out exactly what happened," said TWU Local 100 shop steward Christina Hansen. 

The driver involved has been suspended indefinitely.