A 17-year-old boy has died, and a 20-year-old woman has sustained permanent brain damage due to dangerous stunts inspired by TikTok challenges. Two teenagers from Pennsylvania have been charged in connection with these separate incidents, according to Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta.

The first incident occurred in June at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. A 17-year-old boy was killed when he was thrown from a flipped-over folding table that was being towed by a friend, also 17. The driver allegedly operated the vehicle recklessly, causing the table rider to collide with a parked car. The driver has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

In a second incident, a 20-year-old woman suffered "catastrophic head injuries" after falling off the trunk of a moving car while attempting to "surf" in a parking lot near William Penn Highway. The 19-year-old driver in this case faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault and careless driving.

Baratta stated, "Unfortunately, the friend was thrown from the moving vehicle and received catastrophic head injuries that will be permanent in nature." He emphasized that while the teens did not intend to harm anyone, their actions were grossly negligent and reckless.

The district attorney noted that both drivers are first-time offenders and may be eligible for court-supervised programs that could lead to expungement of their charges. He expressed concern for the victims' families, stating, "These parents do not want other families to go through the same horror and pain that they had to endure."

Baratta also highlighted the serious consequences of participating in such challenges, warning that they pose significant risks not only to participants but also to bystanders.

Investigations into both cases are ongoing. A spokesperson for TikTok stated that content promoting dangerous behavior will be removed from the platform. They added that between January and March, 99.8% of videos violating TikTok's policy on dangerous activities were proactively taken down, with 92.4% of those videos receiving no views.