California teenager died trying to film social media stunt on new $500m Los Angeles bridge: police

• A 17-year-old boy in Los Angeles has died climbing the arches of an iconic bridge.

• Police said he wanted to post a ‘social media broadcast’ when he slipped and fell.

• The 6th Street Bridge was often closed due to dangerous stunts and drag races taking place there.

A 17-year-old boy died on Saturday after trying to film a social media stunt on the 6th Street Bridge in Los Angeles, police said.

The unnamed teenager slipped while ‘climbing one of the arches in order to, apparently, post a social media broadcast,’ Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said. , at a board meeting on Tuesday.

“Tragically we see this place, while it has brought a lot of pride to Los Angeles, it has also sadly served as the backdrop for tragedies like this,” Moore said.

Police found the boy around 2 a.m. on the 6th Street overpass, and he was pronounced dead at a hospital, according to The Associated Press.

Moore did not specify which social media platform the teenager was using.

The $588 million bridge, which opened in July, has been repeatedly closed due to incidents of vandalism and street stunts. It has notoriously become the site of street takeovers and illegal drag races, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Some TikTokers have filmed themselves climbing the arches of the bridge – which light up in red and blue and are its main feature.

According to Tom Carroll of The Times, plans for the bridge initially featured railings and stairs over its arches. However, that design was eventually scrapped, Caroll reported.

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