This is a list of incidents involving injury or death to graffiti writers and street-artists before, during or after they created or attempted to create street art and graffiti.
Overview There were six people who died creating graffiti on train carriages in New South Wales by 1988. Nine people were seriously injured or died creating graffiti on railway property in New South Wales in the 18 months prior to December 2001.
In July 1988 in the London Underground there were people who had received "... electric shocks and burns crossing the 600-volt rails to tag a wall." In June 2008 in Los Angeles there had been "...taggers getting injured once every couple of months from falls or being 'clipped by a car'.". In relation to graffiti accidents in Berlin in the 1990's it was commented that there were "...quite a few writers who died then or later and who were active in the 90s...".
At the Munich Department of Cultural Affairs official guide to graffiti it comments on the risks that occur when creating graffiti along railway tracks "Apart from the difficulty of finding your bearings in the dark, on paths not intended for your use, and the danger of getting caught in the switches of the tracks, the biggest threat by far is posed by incoming trains. Even experienced sprayers sometimes misjudge these risks, which regularly leads to fatal accidents. Likewise, coming into contact or even just close proximity to the power lines (electric arc) located next to the tracks or above the trains can have lethal consequences in a matter of seconds."
Taking photos When people have taken photos after they have just finished creating graffiti there have been accidents where deaths have occurred. In Los Angeles in 1993, a 23-year-old man was on train tracks with a group of friends in order to spray paint graffiti on the side of a freight carriage. He was taking photos of the graffiti when the sound of an approaching train was heard. He began to move across the tracks, but was fatally hit by the train.
In Russia in 2020 a 22-year-old who had created graffiti at a train station climbed up onto a train carriage to take a photo, where he received an electric shock and died.
In Ukraine in 2015 a 15-year-old was painting graffiti on train carriages and they then climbed up onto the roof of a carriage for a photo and they received an electric shock which set their clothing on fire and they died.
Electric arcs
Overhead power lines on railways are able to create electric arcs and it has been commented that "Importantly, electrocution may occur even in the absence of direct contact, as high voltage arcs can discharge through the air and cause devastating injuries." In 2013 Julius Gerhardt was spraying graffiti on freight carriages when he climbed on top of a carriage to tag a bridge. He was holding a spray can in his right hand, and an electric arc jumped over to the spray can and went through his hand, arm, and chest, then exited out of his right foot. He lost consciousness and was then lifted up and carried to a street by the people who were with him. He was in a coma in hospital for 36 hours, and then later put into a medically induced coma for a week. He received burns to over 90% of his body. Gerhardt commented that "I didn't know about arcs. In the arc, like lightning, electricity is conducted through the air. I had the spray can in my right hand. When I raised my hand, the metal became an antenna. The air transmitted the voltage—and I flew off the train car." It has further been commented that "...it is quite possible that from a distance of one meter, a breakdown [electric arc] will occur on a wristwatch, a phone in a pocket or a belt buckle, that is, on any metal object."
For an electric arc to occur there does not need to be a metallic object on a persons body as the high amount of water in human bodies is enough to create an electric arc and it has been commented that "...on the roof of an electric train, there is a risk of injury due to electric shock at a distance of up to 1.5 meters from the high-voltage contact wire. That is, to receive a strong electric shock, it is not necessary to touch the wire - it is enough to be in close proximity. The nominal voltage of the contact wire is 3000 volts. Under operating conditions, it varies from 2000 to 4000 volts. The distance at which the electric current strikes varies depending on the voltage in the contact network and climatic conditions - for example, humidity or air temperature."
In 2013 a 15 year-old was train surfing when an electric arc jumped over to his body from overhead power lines. He was taken to hospital and was in a critical but stable condition, and it was thought that he had not "...touched the cables but was struck by an arc of electricity after getting too close to the wires." In 2012, a 17-year-old in Ebersberg climbed onto the roof of a train; after the train moved a few metres, he was hit by an electric arc, and the train stopped moving due to a short circuit. He fell off the side of the train and received burns to 75% of his body. He was put into an artificial coma and was in a very critical condition. At the time of the accident it was commented that "The current radiates from a cable like that up to 1.5 meters away. This is called an arc. So you don't even have to touch the line directly to get an electric shock...".
Graffiti and street art injuries and deaths