VIDEO: Teen Dies in Uber/Snapchat Stunt!

A Snapchat stunt gone wrong cost one teenager his life. 15 year old Ryan Mullen was drinking with two friends in Huntington Station, when they had an idea for a Snapchat prank. They decided it would be funny to roof surf on their Uber driver’s car.

They boys gave the driver $40 and proceeded to film the stunt.

Ryan lost his balance and fell off. The video shows Ryan looking dazed afterward, but no one raised any alarm. Ryan suffered head trauma and passed away the next day. The head injuries included a traumatic brain injury, fractured skull and cranial bleeding

Now the Uber driver is facing manslaughter charges, because instead of driving Ryan to the hospital, which was less than a mile away, the driver continued with the trip and took the boys to a friend’s house, where Ryan then died in his sleep.

Ryan’s parents are devastated and are now raising awareness, hoping that Ryan’s story will keep others safe. Ryan’s father Matt Mullen shared, “No family should go through this pain. It’s a club that no one should be part of”. His mother Janice added, “It’s thinking you’re invincible, that you really can’t get hurt.”

Uber said, “Words cannot describe how deeply troubled we are by this incident. Our thoughts are with the rider’s family during this difficult time. This driver has been permanently removed from the app.”

Unfortunately, as Ryan’s parents shared their son’s stories with other kids, his friends said they were familiar with the popular internet stunt. Car surfing is just one of the many internet stunts people do on social media to collect likes and followers. Extreme videos popularized by Vine and YouTube show just how far people will go to become famous on social media, but teens are often forgetting that these challenges and trends can lead to deadly car accidents.

Several other car surfing accidents have occurred including a teenager whose head was run over after they fell off car surfing in a Walmart parking lot., and challenges like the Kiki challenge, where participants exit a moving vehicle, have landed a lot of teens in the hospital in serious or critical condition.

Ryan’s parents want to spread the word that no amount of likes are worth risking your life. Those of us at What’s Trending are sending love to Ryan’s family.