Two Pennsylvania teens charged in deadly TikTok car-surfing incidents

Two Pennsylvania teenagers face criminal charges after participating in a deadly TikTok trend known as car-surfing, authorities said, with one teen killed and another left with a catastrophic brain injury. The incidents occurred in Northampton County and involve unrelated events tied to the same dangerous social media challenge.

In the first incident, on June 1 in the parking lot of Bethlehem’s Freedom High School, 17-year-old David Nagy rode on a table tied to the back of his friend’s car as it moved. The unidentified driver, also 17, allegedly whipped Nagy into another parked vehicle, producing a fatal head injury valued by investigators and leading to involuntary manslaughter charges against the driver, according to Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta. Nagy was killed while taking part in the TikTok “surfing” challenge, which involves tying objects or participants to moving vehicles.

The other accident occurred on March 18 in a Park and Ride parking lot, where 19-year-old Eniya Serina Alvarado allegedly drove the car at 35 mph while her 20-year-old passenger stood on the trunk. The passenger was thrown from the vehicle and sustained permanent catastrophic brain injuries, police said. Alvarado faces charges of aggravated assault and aggravated assault by vehicle. The two crashes were unrelated, though both cases unfolded in Northampton County and involved participants who were not accused of deliberate malicious intent but were deemed grossly negligent in their actions, Baratta said.

The cases underscore the dangers of social media stunts that encourage risky behaviors behind the wheel. Baratta told FOX 29 that the families involved shared a close bond, noting the heartbreak of witnessing what happened to a friend and, in one instance, a teammate. “The families did have a closeness and a trust with these close friends—I mean they knew them very well,” he said. “That’s what’s so heartbreaking in this case.” He added that the public should understand these challenges can have severe, real-world consequences that jeopardize not only participants but bystanders as well.

Both cases are expected to be resolved without going to trial, officials said, given that the defendants are first-time offenders who may be eligible for expungement. The defendants’ parents and the district attorney’s office said the lessons from these tragedies are intended to deter others from glorifying risky social media stunts. In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson said the car-surfing videos violate the platform’s community guidelines, noting that the company proactively removes about 99.8% of such videos and that 92.4% of videos removed for guideline violations are taken down before anyone views them.