The teen tourist tragically killed in a horse carriage crash had booked the ride with his family so they could take in the iconic Central Park sights during their first trip to the United States. <\/p>\n
Romanch Mahajan, 18, his parents and his 11-year-old brother had arrived from India for a dream vacation just three days before the teen was tossed from a buggy when the horse got spooked, his aunt , Sovia Thukral, told The Post Friday. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey are very devastated, imagine they just come to visit and it\u2019s their first time in America and they never expected that this is what they\u2019re going to face,\u201d Thukra said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s really heartbreaking.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Mahajan family right before the incident inside of the carriage. Obtained by NY Post<\/p>\n
Thukral said her brother \u2014 Mahajan\u2019s father \u2014 called from Central Park in a panic right after Wednesday\u2019s tragedy. <\/p>\n
His voice was wavering and he couldn\u2019t speak properly when he told Thukral his son was not responding.<\/p>\n
The family\u2019s Central Park excursion went horribly wrong when the unattended horse, named Sampson, bolted while the group was posing for pictures.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The driver, Ertan Gokdepe, had asked the family to return to the carriage so he could take their photo when the horse began inching forward, said Thukral.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Gokdepe attempted to restrain the horse, the animal suddenly took off. <\/p>\n
Mahajan\u2019s mother, Priya, fell off the buggy first. <\/p>\n
Romanch Mahajan<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then my nephew, he saw his mom falling off and he said mama and by the time he could pick up himself, control his body to jump, he fell off from the carriage,\u201d said Thukral.<\/p>\n
The father, after seeing his wife and older son fall, held \u201chis younger son tightly like a seatbelt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thukral said that Mahajan\u2019s death was \u201ctotally negligence\u201d and that he was about to begin studying at one of India\u2019s top universities, learning that he was admitted the first day he was in the States. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The aftermath of the crash. Jordan Donegan<\/p>\n
She added that the family would have never asked for a photo if they knew that regulations strictly prohibit leaving the horse and carriage unattended.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave we known that, have we known this is the rule that they\u2019re not supposed to leave the horse unattended we would have never agreed to it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n