PARIS, Jan. 5 (UPI) — British parkour enthusiast Nye Frankie Newman died during an accident aboard a Paris Metro train, his friends announced on social media. He was 17.
Parkour is a sort of urban daredevil act where people jump between and climb buildings and other parts of the urban landscape.
Newman, of Guilford, England, was a leader of the parkour group Brewman, which gained attention after members posted videos of themselves “train surfing” — riding on the outside of trains — across the Seine in Paris.
A recent Instagram post showed Newman standing atop what appears to be a rail bridge with the Eiffel Tower in the background.
Newman’s friend Luke Stones posted on Facebook that Newman had not been train surfing at the time of his death, but did not elaborate on what caused the New Year’s Day accident. French transportation authorities said Newman was “between two cars” when the accident took place.
“Nye was an incredible human being who was always up for anything, he experienced things in his short life, that many won’t experience in their life times,” Stones wrote. “He was the type of guy who had no regrets in his life and lived every day like it was his last.”