Young Man Climbs onto Riga Trolleybus Roof with a Grave Candle

A young man was seen clinging to a moving trolleybus on Vienības gatve in Riga and placing a grave candle on its roof. The incident was reported by the programme "Degpunktā". Rīgas satiksme, the company running the city's public transport, calls such behaviour a reckless challenge to fate and urges people not to take part.

The witness's account

The woman, named Ivita, says she was initially shocked, while her small child sitting beside her reacted with curiosity and asked whether this was allowed. Ivita told the child it was not. She says she had never seen anything like it. According to her, the young man was holding a grave candle, and a video shows him placing it on the trolleybus roof.

Ivita acted immediately: at the next stop she drove ahead of the trolleybus, stopped, got out and ran to tell the driver what had happened. While she was explaining, the trolleybus stood at the stop. At that moment the young man jumped off and walked away with his candle.

A growing number of cases

The source says that recently more and more young people have been travelling on public transport in an extreme way, holding on to its rear and riding for several stops.

Rīgas satiksme describes this as a game with life and death. The company warns that a person can fall under the trolleybus, bus or a vehicle driving behind it. In such situations, it says, one should contact the police immediately. The company also notes that filming and publishing such acts creates a mass effect, prompting others to want to try something similar.