Crime & Safety
Teen's Family Says He Was ‘Left To Die’ After Botched TikTok Stunt On Queensboro Bridge
In a petition posted online, the family accused the boy's friends of abandoning the 16-year-old and not calling for help.
QUEENS, NY — The family of a 16-year-old boy who had to be rescued from the Queensboro Bridge after falling 50 feet down a shaft has said he was "left to die” when his friends ran off and are demanding an investigation.
In a petition posted to Change.org, the family says 16-year-old Frankie was "abandoned and left to die during their worst and most traumatic moment of their life."
The family is accusing the teen's friends of recording the incident and posting the video online instead of calling for help.
Find out what's happening in Queensfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
"Instead of helping him, they left him there. They even took his phone and disposed of it, leaving him with no way to call for help. Frankie lay alone for over four hours, bleeding and exposed to the cold,” the family wrote in the petition.
Find out what's happening in Queensfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The teen is believed to have gotten stuck after he allegedly planned to post his stunt on TikTok, police said.
He was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell in critical condition.
The family says that Frankie's survival is "nothing short of a miracle." The teen still faces a long road of surgeries, recovery, rehabilitation and a long list of medical bills.
The petition is demanding that police investigate and charge the teen's friends who "left the victim for hours to rot"on the bridge. A separate fundraiser was created to help cover emergency care, surgeries, hospital stays and rehabilitation.
As of Thursday, the petition has over 900 signatures.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.