Nationwide — Zackery Nazario, a 15-year-old African American teen from New York City, died while subway surfing in 2023. His mother now blames social media platforms for feeding him dangerous content and has taken legal action.
Zackery was a history lover who dreamed of joining the Marines. On February 20, 2023, he boarded the J train with his girlfriend. They climbed between moving cars and onto the roof. As the train crossed the Williamsburg Bridge, Zackery was struck by a beam and fell to the tracks. He died instantly.
His mother, Norma Nazario, 54, says she didn’t realize how deeply Zackery had fallen into social media. He got his phone for after-school use, but soon became obsessed with Instagram and TikTok. She didn’t know he had downloaded TikTok until after his death.
Norma believes Instagram and TikTok showed her son subway surfing videos that influenced him to try it. Both platforms say such content is banned, but Norma found Zackery’s phone intact at the scene and saw what he had been watching. That moment pushed her to act.
In 2024, Norma sued Meta, TikTok, and the MTA, claiming Zackery was “targeted, goaded, and encouraged” to subway surf. The MTA was dismissed from the case, but the claims against the tech companies remain. A Manhattan judge recently ruled the case could move forward, rejecting their immunity defenses.
Zackery’s death is part of a growing trend. NYC saw five subway surfing deaths in 2023 and three more by mid-2025. Other cities like San Francisco and Washington, D.C., have also reported fatalities.
The MTA has responded with public campaigns, sensors, and redesigned trains. But Norma says that’s not enough. On the one-year anniversary of Zackery’s death, she received his high school diploma.
“I’m not going to stop,” she says. “Until it stops forever.”
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