Family Seeks $105M in NYC Carriage Horse Death

The family of an 18-year-old tourist from India has filed notices of claim seeking $105 million in damages from New York City, alleging that stray electrical voltage may have caused a carriage horse to bolt, leading to the teenager's death. The legal action, announced over the weekend of August 15, 2026, targets the city and several municipal agencies, as well as the utility Con Edison, in connection with the June 17 incident in Central Park.

Romanch Mahajan was killed during a family vacation after a horse-drawn carriage he and his relatives were riding suddenly bolted near Cherry Hill. According to accounts from his family and officials, the carriage driver had stopped to take a photograph of the family when the horse, named Sampson, became agitated and ran off. As the carriage raced away, Mahajan's mother, Priya, was thrown from the vehicle. Romanch Mahajan immediately jumped out in an attempt to help her, striking his head on the pavement. He was pronounced dead later that night at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. His parents and younger brother suffered minor injuries, and the carriage was destroyed after crashing into another vehicle.