Kid custody catastrophe for Weiner
A NEW JERSEY high schooler celebrating senior skip day in Times Square is in critical condition after being mowed down by the deranged driver who hit 21 people, the Daily News learned Saturday.
Jessica Williams, 19, was weeks away from her prom and graduating from Dunellen High School when Richard Rojas slammed his car into her and her 18-year-old friend as they walked down Seventh Ave. Thursday.
She is hospitalized with a host of gruesome injuries including a fractured pelvis and broken leg, her cousin Nicole Guild said on a Gofundme page dedicated to the teen’s recovery.
“Her spleen was removed yesterday and the damage to her face was stitched up today,” Guild wrote Saturday. “Her leg is still broken and will require surgery at a later time.”
“She is strong, she is a fighter and she will pull through this,” Guild added.
Williams went to Midtown for senior skip day, a tradition at Dunellen High School, with her friend and fellow senior Destiny Lightfoot.
“Little did anyone know that she would end up being one of the many pedestrians mauled down by a crazed man,” said Guild.
Lightfoot was also struck but her injuries were less severe, a police source said.
Since Friday, 151 people have donated more than $12,500 to Williams’ recovery.
The teen worked with her aunt, Sandra, at Pepe’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria in Plainfield, N.J., co-workers said.
“She was only working here for a few months but she was a sweet girl,” said her co-worker Mina Dinuzzo, 40. “Everyone is pulling for her.”
“It’s gonna be a very rough road,” said her aunt Lisa Williams, 56, who said that she broke down in tears when she learned the tragic news.
Williams said her niece loves to spend her free time at the beach, has a very close relationship with her parents and a “wonderful laugh.”
“The family is really worried about caring for her long-term,” she said. “We’re just living it one day at a time.”
When Rojas’ careening car finally came to a stop on Broadway and W. 45th St. just before noon, 18-year-old Michigan tourist Alyssa Elsman was dead.
Her 13-year-old sister Ava was found nearby with a broken pelvis and a cracked lung.
The wounded also include a 38-year-old woman from Canada who remained in extremely critical condition at Bellevue Hospital Saturday with massive head injuries, officials said.
On Friday, a judge ordered Rojas held without bail on a charge of murder and 20 counts of attempted murder.
The Navy vet told police he had smoked pot laced with PCP and declared that he wanted to “kill them all,” prosecutors said.
Authorities were awaiting blood test results to confirm what drugs Rojas had consumed.
Elsman’s father, Thomas, drove to the city from Michigan and was “apoplectic” Friday when he showed up at the police precinct where Rojas was being held and threatened his life, officials said.
“My ex-wife watched her die,” he told ABC7. “Her sister is aware of what happened. She watched the whole thing.” CONFESSION, while good for the soul, was unquestionably bad for Anthony Weiner’s child custody chances in his upcoming divorce.
“First of all, he’s going to jail,” top divorce attorney Raoul Felder told the Daily News on Saturday. “Second, he’s a convicted criminal. And worst of all, he’s a sex offender.
“He’ll be lucky if he gets supervised visits. His judgment was so bad.”
Weiner’s wife Huma Abedin filed for divorce Friday within hours of her estranged husband’s guilty plea for his creepy and criminal cybersex relationship with a 15-year-old North Carolina girl.
The couple, married for six years, have a 5-year-old son. Weiner’s admission gives Abedin, a longtime aide to Hillary Clinton, the unquestioned upper hand if a contentious custody fight ensues.
“Your moral character is going to be a factor in any custody case because the main issue is the best interest of the child,” said divorce lawyer Ira Garr, whose clients include media magnate Rupert Murdoch and Ivana Trump.
“If you have two educated, capable parents, the question turns on who’s the more fit parent. If she’s able to exploit this as not only a weakness but an illness, he’d probably be crazy to fight her.”
Weiner admitted he has a problem and is receiving treatment for his sexual obsessions. “I have nothing to say,” said Weiner, fiddling with his wedding ring Saturday outside his Manhattan home.
Abedin, in an effort to avoid the publicity that surrounded their doomed marriage, filed her divorce papers as “Anonymous Vs. Anonymous” — but word soon leaked of the split.
The papers were filed as contested, raising the possibility of a tellall divorce trial for the high-profile pairing. Garr suggested the timing of Abedin’s case was likely no accident.
“I’m sure she’s been speaking with Hillary about her damage control,” said Garr.
Garr said a quiet behind-thescenes deal between the couple was the smart way to avoid additional angst.
“It won’t be on the front page very long if they’ve settled everything,” said Garr. ALEX RUD