UPDATE: An ex-Naval officer speeding the wrong way up a Seventh Avenue sidewalk mowed down a dozen pedestrians in the heart of Times Square, killing one person and injuring 23 others, officials said.
People help a man after a car jumped the curb in Times Square on Thursday.Reuters
Richard Rojas, a Bronx native with two prior DWIs, started the carnage at Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street, where he made a “quick U-turn” and mounted the sidewalk, said NYPD Assistant Chief William Aubry.
He then sped north for 3 1/2 blocks, killing 18-year-old Alyssa Elsman and injuring 23 others, before his 2009 Honda Accord struck a pole near 45th Street and Broadway, officials said.
Read more at the NY Post
Earlier story is below.
NEW YORK (AP) — A man who appeared intoxicated drove his car the wrong way up a Times Square street and plowed into pedestrians on the sidewalk Thursday, killing a teenager and injuring 22 other people, authorities and witnesses said. The driver was taken into custody and being tested for alcohol.
Pandemonium erupted when the vehicle barreled through the prime tourist location and came to rest with two of its wheels in the air. The car leaned on a lamppost and steel barriers intended to block vehicles from getting onto the sidewalk.
“He’s just mowing down people,” said Asa Lowe, of Brooklyn, who was standing outside a store when he heard screaming. “He didn’t stop. He just kept going.”
The crash happened midday on a hot, clear day that brought large crowds of people into the streets to enjoy the good weather. Video posted online showed steam or smoke pouring from the car for a few moments after it stopped moving.
After the car struck a barricade and stopped, the driver climbed out of his vehicle, Lowe said.
“He just started running until people tackled him down,” Lowe said. “Citizens just reacted.”
The driver, a 26-year-old Navy veteran named Richard Rojas, was taken into custody and was undergoing tests for alcohol and drugs, Police Commissioner James O’Neill said. Rojas had been arrested at least twice previously for driving while intoxicated, once in 2008 and once in 2015, police said. He was in custody, and it wasn’t clear if he had an attorney yet who could comment on his behalf.
The crash killed an 18-year-old woman and the injured included her 13-year-old sister, police said.
Police do not suspect a link to terrorism, but the vehicle was checked by the bomb squad and certain city landmarks were getting a beefed up police presence.
“Out of an abundance of caution,” Mayor Bill de Blasio added.
Police said Rojas made a quick U-turn onto 42nd Street and then drove up the sidewalk for three blocks, passing tourist draws like the Hard Rock Cafe and the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurant and mowing people down before slamming into a pole. He was combative with officers who handcuffed him, authorities said.
Bruno Carvalho, a student at SUNY Albany, said the car approached quickly and passed him on the sidewalk.
“People just got stunned,” he said. “I don’t think there was actually time for screaming.”
He said he saw about five people who looked gravely injured – “people, really bad, in front of us.”
Tourists Patrick and Kelly Graves of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, were waiting to get on a tour bus when they heard the crash.
Kelly Graves said she feared the worst, maybe a bomb, as “chaos” erupted and people began running.
People rushed to help the injured, who were lying on the sidewalk.
The White House said President Donald Trump was informed of the situation in Times Square and would continue to be briefed as it unfolded.
The sidewalks in many parts of Times Square and surrounding blocks are lined with metal posts designed to prevent cars from getting onto the sidewalks and other public areas.
That network of barricades, though, is far from a complete defense. There are many areas where vehicles could be driven onto packed sidewalks or public plazas.
Times Square also has a heavy police presence at all hours of the day and night.
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Associated Press writers Libby Quaid in Washington and Jennifer Peltz and Jake Pearson in New York contributed to this report.
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This content is published through a licensing agreement with Acquire Media using its NewsEdge technology.
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What a sad story. But I am very proud of all civilians who rushed to help the injured or who chased the perp and tackled him so police could do their job of arresting him.
Crazy insane act of terrorism. Article by AP. Uh-huh. OK how far do I have to go to find out the name? Because you know if his name was Alistair Kensington Whitmore III they’d have his name up front with a “Saddam Hussein mugshot” of him, and a headline describing how all white people are racists, and then listing a few ethnic names from the crowd (that he couldn’t possibly tell at that speed) as proof.
OK so which is he? Latino or Muslim?
“Richard Rojas”. No picture. Right.
20 bucks says his real name is Ricardo Rojas and they tried to make him a “White Hispanic” like George Zimmerman, so that this can turn into a racial thing – more fuel for Black Lives Matter.
And I bet he just barely speaks English.
Also, I noticed no mention of why he’s no longer in the Navy. Kicked out, perhaps? Violent? Expect the real info to trickle out in a week or so. That’s how these things usually go. Mark your calendar for May 25, the day we should have most of the real story, once the emotional impact created by the Media has already done its damage.
Yet again, we see someone out on the street committing crimes that IF THE Dumb A&&s in the justice dept/judges, had been doing their jobs, they wouldn’t have been OUT to commit any of these..
HOW MANY more innocent people must be injured/killed by these LAX judges freeing people KNOWN to be violent and repeat offenders, just cause they feel “That he deserves just one more chance” (even if they have already had half a bloody dozen just one more chances) before WE THE PEOPLE start have to hold these judges to account??
Just Last week, we had a SHERIFF and 2 women killed in Ohio, CAUSE A KNOWN violent perp, convicted of 3 domestic battery, assaults and other things, was LET OUT OF JAIL after only serving 12 days of a 90 day sentence (i am sorry, but 90 days for assault and domestic violence??) HAD HIS *** been in jail for a few dozen YEARS these 3 victims wuld still be alive to day..