A man died in Queens after falling to the ground and smashing his head while attempting to leap a New York City subway turnstile. Christopher De La Cruz, 28, attempted to avoid the $2.75 subway price by climbing over the turnstiles at the Forest Hills 71st Avenue train station, according to viral CCTV footage.

The video shows the man attempting to jump over the subway turnstile several times but failing. In the first attempt, he looks to collapse and drops his phone. He then staggers back as though inebriated before attempting to jump over yet another turnstile. When officers and paramedics got on the scene, he was unconscious. 

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According to authorities, in his final try, he can be seen lifting himself up and flipping over the barrier, smashing down onto his head and breaking his neck. According to the Daily Mail, the event occurred around 6.30 am. The man was found unconscious on the floor of the station, which serves the E, F, M, and R lines. Cops and emergency medical staff were dispatched to the site.

The individual was declared dead at the spot, and it is thought that he perished when his head collided with the ground. A city medical examiner has yet to announce a cause of death as of now. The father of Christopher De La Cruz, Jose De La Cruz, told Daily Mail that, “What can I say? He did a mistake.”

Many users reacted to the clip of the CCTV footage that was published on various social media platforms. One person wrote, “Possibly. Or even, you know, pay for the ride. To think his life is gone like that for so little, it’s such a sad way to go.  It’s beyond sad.” “It doesn't look like he cracked his head, more like overextended his neck causing it to snap. Couldn't he have just crawled under the turnstile? He looked "drunk" the way he was stumbling around,” another wrote. “How very sad. So senseless and brought on by his own foolishness,” yet another person added.