A man is being treated for burns after he caught on fire on top of a Metro North commuter train headed for New York City, the Daily Mail reported on Sunday.
The 21-year-old was found by Metropolitan Transportation Authority workers when they were trying to find out why the train suddenly lost power in Greenwich. Brian McClellen, of Ohio, was found on top of the train around 5 a.m. on Sunday.
McClellen was on fire and had to be put out with an extinguisher, MTA Spokesman Aaron Donovan said. His condition was not yet available, UT San Diego reported.
Why McClellen got on top of the train and how are being investigated by the MTA, Donovan said. The train, powered by electrical wires overhead, was carrying roughly 20 passengers at the time. They were directed to another New York-bound train, according to the Daily News.
Riding dangerously on the outside of trains, known as "train surfing," has caused other serious injuries in the New York area. A Brooklyn teenager lost an eye when he slammed his head into a metal beam while train surfing on a subway car last year.
Around the same time, a homeless man was killed after he hit a beam while riding on top of a subway train as it pulled into the station, the New York Post reported.
"Subway surfing is simply one of the dumbest things you can do," said an MTA spokesman at the time.
