The operator of a runaway horse-drawn carriage that led to the death of an 18-year-old tourist is “devastated,” a rep said Thursday – as it was revealed all Central Park horse-and-buggy rides were halted.
“He’s absolutely devastated,” said Christina Hansen, shop steward for Transport Workers Union Local 100, outside carriage driver Ertan Gokdepe’s Queens home.
“Nothing like this has ever happened to him,” she said, noting that Gokdepe has been in the business for 20 years.
Romanch Mahajan, 18, a tourist from India, was on vacation with his family when they booked a carriage ride in Central Park with Gokdepe.
But disaster struck when the horse, 7-year-old Sampson, became spooked as Gokdepe stepped out of the buggy to take a photo of the family, according to sources.
The horse bolted, knocking Mahajan’s mother, Priya, from the carriage.
“My son, just to save his mother, he fell off,” Mahajan’s father, Deepak told the New York Times. “He was screaming, ‘Mom!’”
He later died of blunt force trauma in what the city medical examiner has ruled an accidental death.
Alexander Kemp, a vice president at TWU Local 100, blasted the driver’s decision to step away.
“A driver is not supposed to leave the carriage to take photos — ever,” Kemp said in a statement. “We support a full investigation.”
For the union, the incident has created a sense of shock.
“This is uncharted territory,” Hansen said. “Nobody knows quite what to do because nothing like this has ever happened to our industry. It’s just awful.”
“We’ve never had a fatal accident like this before,” said Kemp.
The union closed down the stables and ceased operations in response to the tragedy.
“We have shuttered the stables and ceased operations today while we have extensive internal discussions on what transpired and how it could have been prevented,” Kemp said in a separate statement to NBC NY.
