Grieving Family of Teen Killed Subway Surfing Raises Money for Funeral

Following a fatal accident falling from a J train over the Williamsburg Bridge, the family of a 14-year-old is trying to raise $16,000 for a funeral to mourn and commemorate the teen’s life.

Two Brooklyn boys, 14 and 18, respectively, were found unconscious and unresponsive underneath the Williamsburg Bridge at the intersection of Lewis St and Delancey St at approximately 5:58 p.m. on May 22, a police spokesperson told Straus News. The 14-year-old, later identified as Akhi Butler, was pronounced deceased by first responders on the scene while the 18-year-old was transported to and remains in critical condition at Bellevue Hospital. Currently, no arrests have been made and an investigation is ongoing.

The accident was a result of subway ‘surfing,’ in which thrill-seeking riders climb atop moving subway trains. Since 2022, NYPD confirmed 16 deaths as a result of subway surfing. To try to combat fatalities and injuries, the then Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD introduced a drone program to monitor subway surfing activity in July 2025, while MTA released public service ad campaigns to dissuade against the dangerous act.

One Nextdoor user, a platform for local neighborhood tips, wrote that he was a subway surfer in his youth but said deaths have been on the rise from the dangerous practice in recent years because thrill seeking kids are taking the trains over bridges. In the past, he said kids might ride for a few stops and disembark. Rarely did anyone in that era stay on the train as it drove over a bridge.

“Very sad for the families that lost their kids to subway surfing,” Jean-Pierre Duqueroix-Duvalier wrote. “I used to do this in my youth (in the early 90s) but the difference is that we used to ride the trains and study the route and infrastructure. The people that died during those times (and at current) just hop atop a train for a joy ride (especially the J line) because it crosses the bridge. The reason that this line is so deadly is because you can’t escape the beam before it does underground.”

“You’ll see that most deaths occur on a bridge or an underpass,” Duqueroix-Duvalier added. “Why? Because there is only enough space for the train to pass through successfully. Nothing else. Remember in the 80s most did their first surf on the 7 or L line and only for a couple stops. Then people had the idea to surf the bridges and tunnels...that’s when majority of the death tolls began.”

Following the accident, Mayor Zohran Mamdani released a statement denouncing subway surfing as “deadly” and sent condolences to the victims’ families: “This is a preventable tragedy. No family should get a phone call like that.”

Demetrius Crichlow, president of NYC Transit, said he hopes to prevent further tragedies, denouncing subway surfing and encouraging awareness about the dangers of the act.

“This is heartbreaking and knowing that riding outside trains is going to end tragically, it’s incomprehensible-and pains me as a parent-that it continues to happen,” Crichlow said in a statement. “I’m imploring families, friends, teachers, and others coming into contact with teens engaging in these suicidal stunts to get them to stop.”

The family of the deceased teen is now currently raising funds for Butler’s funeral and care for his brothers through GoFundMe, saying “Akhi Dwayne Jones Butler was just 14-years-old, weeks away from graduating to high school. He was a big brother—a real one—to two little boys who now wake up every morning and have to learn how to live without him.”

“Yes, Akhi made a decision that cost him his life, but he was also a child pressured by older peers, including an 18-year-old, into something he never should have been near,” the family added in their GoFundMe bio. “Before you judge, ask yourself what you were doing at 14. Akhi was not a statistic or a cautionary tale. He was somebody’s everything: a son, a nephew, a big brother, a heartbeat.”

As of May 27, the family has raised just over $5,600 for Butler’s memorial fund.