The Mahajan family was on the third day of their first trip to New York City when tragedy struck.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“We never knew that this was the last day of his life,” Deepak Mahajan told NBC News on Friday about his son Romanch, who died Wednesday after he fell out of a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park.The family’s 10-day vacation to the United States was meant to celebrate Romanch’s recent high school graduation and acceptance to a university in India.Romanch, his father, his mother, Priya, and his 11-year-old younger brother, Maanik, were exploring Central Park on Wednesday when they decided to take one of the park’s iconic horse-drawn carriage rides.The roughly 45-minute tour included stops where the driver would take photos of them at scenic locations, Deepak Mahajan said.Toward the end of the ride, the driver stepped away from the carriage to snap a picture of the family.
It was then that the horse bolted.Romanch fell out of the carriage and hit his head on the pavement, police said.His family said Romanch was attempting to save his mother after she fell from the carriage.
The 18-year-old was rushed to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.The rest of the family suffered minor injuries.“My son was like 6-feet-2 or 6-feet-3, handsome guy, very obedient, very smart guy,” Mahajan said of his son, adding: “It’s a big loss to our whole family.”Guarav Mahajan, Romanch’s uncle, remembered him as a sincere, down-to-earth teenager who was always willing to help others.“Doesn’t matter, like, you know, if he knew someone or not, he will always pitch in to help people,” Guarav Mahajan said Saturday.Romanch had aspirations to become an entrepreneur after graduating from university, his family said.“He had a lot of, lot of brilliant ideas that he would share with his dad, even us, sometimes,” his uncle said.Horse carriage rides in New York Cit...