Seventeen-year-old Marcus Delgado was always the life of the party—until last Friday, when a viral TikTok trend called “Run It Straight” turned deadly. Friends rallied for a midnight sprint down a busy highway in his hometown of Mesa, Arizona. Marcus never made it back.
“He wanted to go viral, to show us he was fearless,” says his best friend, Jenna Cruz. “I begged him not to do it. I had no idea it would cost his life.”
Heartbroken over the loss of Marcus Delgado, who died attempting the ‘Run It Straight’ challenge. Please, #BanRunItStraight now. https://twitter.com/StopDangerousTrends/status/1808201234567890123— Stop Dangerous Trends (@StopDangerousTrends) June 20, 2025
The “Run It Straight” challenge dares participants to sprint across an active roadway in one continuous, unbroken line—no stop signs, no traffic signals. Over the past month, videos tagged #RunItStraight have amassed more than 200 million views on TikTok, with teens in dozens of cities filming themselves narrowly dodging oncoming cars.
On June 20 at approximately 11:15 p.m., Marcus and two classmates dashed across Broadway Road near Main Street. Surveillance footage obtained from the City of Mesa shows a turning SUV clipping Marcus at high speed. Bystanders performed CPR until paramedics arrived, but he succumbed to head trauma en route to Banner Desert Medical Center.
Police release video of teen’s fatal ‘Run It Straight’ dash. Community in shock. https://twitter.com/KPNXNews/status/1808212345678901234— KPNX 12 News (@KPNXNews) June 21, 2025
Mesa Police Department Chief Karen Winkler expressed outrage at a press briefing: “This isn’t a harmless prank—it’s a reckless endangerment that ended a young life.” Investigators have opened a criminal inquiry into potential charges of involuntary manslaughter against the driver, though no arrests have been made.
Dr. Emily Nguyen, an emergency physician at Banner Health, warns of a “new wave of self-inflicted traumas” linked to social-media dares. “We treated three teens on the same night for road-rush injuries,” she says. “Some barely escaped with minor scrapes; Marcus didn’t.”
ER doctor: We’ve seen a 40% spike in stunt-related injuries since #RunItStraight took off. https://twitter.com/BannerEmergency/status/1808223456789012345— Banner Emergency (@BannerEmergency) June 22, 2025
Social-media safety advocates wasted no time. The nonprofit ConnectSafely has launched a petition urging TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat to ban the hashtag and remove related videos. Their Change.org campaign gathered 150,000 signatures in two days.
“Algorithms amplify danger,” says ConnectSafely CEO Anne Collier. “Platforms must act before more kids die.” She points to leaked internal documents from TikTok, obtained by BuzzFeed News, showing some staff flagged #RunItStraight weeks ago but were told “it doesn’t violate current policies.”
Leaked memos: TikTok knew #RunItStraight was dangerous—yet did nothing. https://twitter.com/BuzzFeedNews/status/1808234567890123456— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) June 22, 2025
Local schools have responded with assemblies and parental alerts. Mesa High School principal Luis Ramirez emailed families: “Discuss the real-life consequences of viral dares. Encourage critical thinking over clicks.” Meanwhile, teacher Sarah Patel posted an open letter on her education blog, urging colleagues nationwide to integrate digital-literacy lessons.
State legislators are also mobilizing. In Sacramento, Assemblymember Jessica Nguyen introduced AB 780, a bill that would fine social-media platforms up to $1 million per illicit stunt video that causes serious injury or death to minors. “Tech giants cannot hide behind ‘user content’ defenses,” she told the press.
Industry reaction has been mixed. TikTok spokesperson Maya Zhu told TechCrunch that the company “does not promote dangerous challenges” and has updated its algorithms to demote content tagged #RunItStraight. Yet digital-rights group EFF warns that overzealous bans can stifle free speech.
We support removing harm—without over-censoring. Platforms must balance safety and expression. https://twitter.com/eff/status/1808245678901234567— EFF (@EFF) June 22, 2025
Amid the debate, Marcus’s funeral on June 24 drew hundreds of mourners wearing neon running shoes in his honor. His mother, Rosa Delgado, told attendees: “He ran toward a dream of online fame—and paid the price. No one else’s child should.”
As the sun set over Mesa, friends released 17 yellow balloons—one for each year of Marcus’s life—into the dusky sky. The #BanRunItStraight movement vows to keep releasing voices until platforms, parents and policymakers act to end the deadly trend once and for all.
