Rhianna Benson
An 18-year-old who almost lost their life by partaking in the dangerous 'Subway Surfing' trend has issued a gut-wrenching warning to others.
In 2022, Terrell Ismail - who was 16 at the time - was struck in the head by a lengthy metal rod after clambering on board a moving tram travelling at high-speed through New York City.
The Queens local had already successfully train-hopped over 30 times before.
'Subway Surfing' is a highly-illegal practice known by many other names - including 'train hitching'. Whilst some part-takers who are prosecuted have attributed the practice to high costs of public transportation, others have confessed to it being part of a peer-pressured trend.
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The act comes with a last plethora of threats to life, such as serious injury caused by a fall, electrocution by the power supply overheard, and colliding with underground infrastructure.
Such was the lesson learned by Ismail three years ago, on 23 June 2022.
At the time, the teen was travelling through his home borough when he was critically struck by a metal rod hanging over the entrance to the 111th Street station.
According to the New York City Police Department, Ismail was discovered unconscious on top of a train at the station.
The youngster then went into cardiac arrest on the scene, having suffered a traumatic brain injury.
Despite having since undergone a range of surgeries - including on his throat and skull - the extent of his injury still impacts the functionality to the left-hand side of his body, three years later.
Not only was he left unable to speak or eat solid foods, but Ismail had to learn how to walk, write, and breathe on his own all over again.
Speaking to PEOPLE Magazine recently, Ismail was asked if he saw the metal rod coming towards him that fateful day. He replied that 'the speed that your brain would have to process information - you would've already been [there]'.
Following his brush with death, the former adrenaline junkie has used his experience as a means of raising awareness in others of the risks of such stunts - which are said to be on the rise in the likes of Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., with New York the worst for it.
“I feel like God has a purpose for me — a reason for keeping me alive," he said.
Between 2018 - 2022, five individuals died whilst 'Subway Surfing', and a further 14 were killed doing the same since 2023.
The teen's medic, Dr Stephen Leinenweber - who treated Terrell at Blythedale Children’s Hospital - added: "It was a long journey.
"[We] basically had to rebuild him."