Driver runs down pedestrians in Times Square
Man in custody after 3-block rampage leaves 1 dead, dozens hurt
NEW YORK (AP) — A man steered his car onto a sidewalk running through the heart of Times Square and mowed down pedestrians for three blocks Thursday, killing a teenager, then emerged from his wrecked vehicle wild-eyed and waving his arms before he was subdued by police and bystanders.
The driver, a 26-year-old U.S. Navy veteran, told officers he was hearing voices and expected to die, according to two law enforcement officials.
Helpless pedestrians had little time to react as the vehicle barrelled down the sidewalk and through intersections before smashing into a row of steel security barriers installed in recent years to prevent vehicle attacks on the square where massive crowds gather every New Year’s Eve. The car came to rest with its two right wheels in the air.
“He didn’t stop,” said Asa Lowe, of Brooklyn, who was standing outside a store when he heard screaming as people scattered. “He just kept going.”
Police said 23 people were hit by the car, including an 18-year-old woman who died. The woman’s 13-year-old sister was among the injured.
The carnage raised immediate fears of a terrorist attack, but investigators quickly turned their focus to the sobriety and mental health of the driver, identified as Bronx resident Richard Rojas.
“There is no indication that this was an act of terrorism,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
Photographers snapped pictures of Rojas after he climbed from the wrecked car and ran through the street before he was tackled by a group of civilians.
Rojas initially tested negative for alcohol, but more detailed testing was being done to determine if he was high, according to two law enforcement officials.
Police said Rojas had been driving south on 7th Avenue when he made a U-turn at 42nd Street and drove up the sidewalk for three blocks, passing tourist draws like the Hard Rock Cafe and the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant.
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.”
Victims had no time to react and scramble for safety in crowded Times Square, said Alpha Balde, a sightseeing-ticket seller.
“This place?” Balde said. “Anything happens here, there’s no time for people to get out.”
As Rojas ran from his wrecked vehicle, Ken Bradix, a door host supervisor at Planet Hollywood, struck him to get him to stop, Balde said.
Balde and Bradix jumped on top of Rojas, lifted his shirt to make sure he had no weapons and held him until police arrived.
Planet Hollywood said Bradix “selflessly and heroically took action, helping to stop the fleeing suspect.”