Graphic NSFW Photos Of Times Square Crash After Killed Victim's Name Emerges
One woman was killed and as many as 22 people were injured when a driver careened his car through three blocks in Times Square on Thursday afternoon.
The assailant, 26-year-old Richard Rojas from the Bronx, was arrested at the scene. He ran out of his maroon Honda Accord but was tackled by authorities. Rojas had been arrested in 2008 and 2015 for drunk driving.
Immediately after the incident, there were worries that the Islamic State Group, also known as ISIS, was to blame for the attack since it mimicked the Nice, France, terror attack on Bastille Day in 2016, which killed 85 people. Authorities quickly dismissed any links to terrorism.
READ: Nice Terror Attack Update: 8 Bastille Day Suspects Arrested In France
“Based on information we have at this moment, there is no indication that this was an act of terrorism,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a news conference in Times Square Thursday. “We all feel deeply right now for those who were injured and for their families.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also issued a statement. “Today’s events at Times Square were nothing short of horrific,” Cuomo said. “I was briefed at the scene by Commissioner O’Neill and saw firsthand the professionalism and diligence of New York’s first responders. As facts continue to emerge, my heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, as well as their families.”
A witness told the New York Times she saw Rojas speed past hit and speed into the victims. “It was going at a fast rate of speed and to me it looked like it was trying to hit as many people as possible,” she said. “People were trying to jump out of the way.”
The woman who was killed was identified as 18-year-old Alyssa Elsman, a Michigan tourist, the New York Post reported Thursday.
Elsman’s boyfriend, Trevor West, said he “knew something horrible happened” when Elsman didn’t text him back immediately.
“She would always text me back as quick as she could and when I didn’t hear from her or her friend I knew something horrible happened,” West told the Post in an exclusive interview Thursday. “I knew something was wrong.”
The couple had been dating for six months. “She motivated me, loved me, gave me everything I needed that I couldn’t give myself. And now that she’s gone I don’t know how I’m going to fill that void,” West said. “I don’t know how I’m going to function without her ever again.”
De Blasio reportedly visited the victims and their family members are Bellevue Hospital. “You are going to have to be strong now,” he reportedly said, according to the Post.
Rojas admitted to smoking marijuana before he drove Thursday, TMZ reported. He sped the wrong way on Seventh Avenue and then swerved onto the sidewalk at 42nd St. and into the crowd for three blocks, police said.
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