THE heartbroken family of a teenager who died during a runaway Central Park carriage ride has taken the first step toward a $105 million lawsuit over the tragedy.

They now claim a stray electrical current may have spooked the horse and sent it bolting, raising a startling new theory over what caused the deadly ride.

An 18-year-old Indian teenager, Romanch Mahajan, died after falling from a horse-drawn carriage

A family photo taken moments before the deadly incident

Romanch Mahajan, 18, was visiting New York City from India with his parents and younger brother when the horse pulling their carriage suddenly took off in Central Park on June 17.

His mom, Priya, was thrown from the moving carriage as it raced through the park.

Romanch then tried to go after her, but fell and smashed his head on the pavement.

He was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.

Now, four notices of claim have been filed on behalf of Romanch’s family, seeking a combined $105 million from New York City.

The filings are a required step before the family can bring a lawsuit against the city.

They accuse New York and several city agencies of failing to properly regulate the carriage business and deal with alleged hazards inside the park.

The family has alleged that stray voltage near the Cherry Hill Fountain may have contributed to the horse becoming agitated and bolting.

The legal claims have also alleged that the electrical current “caused, precipitated, contributed to” the horse taking off.

But stray voltage has not been confirmed as the cause of the June 17 crash.

Con Edison later detected very low levels of stray voltage in the park on July 16 and July 23, weeks after Romanch’s death.

The utility said neither reading came from Con Edison equipment.

Moment the horse got startled and bolted before the carriage tripped

The scene of the tragedy in Central Park

The Transport Workers Union, which represents carriage drivers, had already raised the possibility that electricity in the ground could have startled the horse.

The union also released what it said was a text exchange in which a Con Edison employee wrote, “We found the problem and cut the power.”

However, officials have not established that the same problem existed when Romanch was killed.

The family’s lawyer, Sagar Chadha of Liakas Law, described the teen’s death as an “avoidable accident.”

He said the claims describe years of alleged warnings and failures to introduce basic safeguards before the tragedy.

Romanch and his family had arrived from India only days earlier for what was supposed to be a dream vacation celebrating his high school graduation.

They were riding through the park when the carriage driver stepped away to take a family photograph.

The horse, Sampson, then suddenly bolted with the family still aboard and the driver chasing behind.

Romanch’s dad, Deepak, previously said the family screamed for help as the carriage hurtled through the park.

When Priya fell out, her son immediately tried to save her.

“My son, just to save his mother, he fell off,” Deepak said after the tragedy.

Romanch suffered a fatal head injury, while the other members of his family survived.

Video showed the runaway carriage tearing through the park before clipping another carriage and ultimately overturning.

The Transport Workers Union later said the driver should not have left the carriage to take the photograph.

The driver was subsequently suspended indefinitely, while seven-year-old Sampson, who had only been working in the park for around six weeks, was retired.

The family has now named New York City, along with its Parks and Recreation, Health and Mental Hygiene, Transportation, and Consumer and Worker Protection departments in its claims.

A spokesperson for the city’s Law Department said it was reviewing the filings and declined to comment on the allegations.

Romanch’s death has also become a flashpoint in the long-running fight over Central Park’s horse-drawn carriages.

A proposed bill dubbed Romanch’s Law in his memory would phase out the rides by June 2028.

His death was the eighth horse-related incident reported in Central Park over a 13-month period, according to the Central Park Conservancy.

The organisation has renewed its call to ban the industry, while others have pushed for tougher safety rules rather than scrapping the famous rides altogether.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/16854178/romanch-mahajan-family-files-lawsuit-new-york-carriage-death/