Times Square Car Crash: five Rapid Facts You Need to Know
Times Square Car Crash: five Prompt Facts You Need to Know
A past mugshot of Richard Rojas.
A car, allegedly driven by a 26-year-old former Navy veteran from the Bronx, crashed onto a sidewalk in Times Square in Fresh York, injuring at least twenty three people, and killing a Michigan teenager on vacation.
The suspect was identified as Richard Rojas by Fox News and The Fresh York Post. Fresh York’s mayor said Rojas is a military veteran and U.S. citizen with an arrest history. He was charged with murder and attempted murder charges on May Nineteen.
The moment of the crash was captured in several graphic movies. You can see them later in the story, but be aware that they are disturbing. Also disturbing: The chilling photos that emerged of Rojas hopping and looking crazed at the scene before he was restrained by Good Samaritans, including a Planet Hollywood bouncer.
PICTURES from Times Square via TMZ. One dead. Twenty two hurt. DUI Driver ID’d as Richard Rojas. pic.twitter.com/8TIlQ4CNuN
— Jason Martinez (@10NewsJason) May Legitimate, 2017
“You were supposed to shoot me! I dreamed to kill them,” Rojas, 26, allegedly told police, according to The Fresh York Post. The motive: He may have been attempting to commit “suicide by cop.”
Rojas, whose car allegedly leaped a sidewalk and killed 18-year-old Alyssa Elsman, was interested in Scientology, and police don’t think he was motivated by terrorism. However, ABC seven is reporting that he told police “he thought the end of the world was coming.”
Suspect Richard Rojas instantly after the incident in Times Square. Horrific scenes. https://t.co/BFfvtsAgXA pic.twitter.com/hcYiGKG4JT
The suspect “tested positive for PCP and told police that God made him do it,” CNN reported, adding that he expected officers to shoot him. However, authorities have not confirmed that account, and other news stations reported he may have been on synthetic marijuana, otherwise known as K2.
Police take 26-year-old Richard Rojas into custody following the deadly Times Square crash. pic.twitter.com/h8z2p3h71c
Early reports indicate the car crash was not terrorism-related, albeit obviously that was the initial concern because ISIS inspired terrorists have recently used vehicles as a modus operandi for attacks via Europe.
The NYPD said within an hour after the crash that the incident is not terrorism but is possibly related to buzzed driving. However, NBC News has now reported that Rojas blew a zero on a blood-alcohol test after the crash. The attention then shifted to drugs and mental health.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Witnesses Described ‘Clumps of People’ Lounging Injured in the Sidewalk
There are numerous injuries after a car leaped the sidewalk in Times Square. Warning this movie is graphic. pic.twitter.com/iPn8rp5LtJ
— Shayna Estulin (@ShaynaEstulin12) May Legitimate, 2017
The concerns about terrorism appeared to dissipate pretty quickly. However, Times Square was on lockdown after the incident, reports CBS. Rojas was captured at the scene after hopping and appearing enraged in the street.
Witnesses described a scene or horror.
A witness told Fox News, “We spotted people laying on the sidewalk…with crowds of people laying around them. You could see clumps of people down the sidewalk with people all around them attempting to help them.”
A woman makes a phone call as others attend to an injured person after a car plunged into them. (Jewel Samad/Getty)
The Fresh York Fire Department referred to the incident as a “motor vehicle accident in Times Square.” According to Fox News, “several police sources told Fox News the incident appeared to be an accident. The NYPD press office had not yet confirmed that.” However, albeit not considered terrorism related, the suspect was scheduled to be arraigned on May nineteen after being hit with a string of criminal charges for murder and attempted murder.
According to the CBS Fresh York, the driver “has two prior DWIs.” He also had a latest arrest for menacing.
However, NBC’s report that he later tested zero on the alcohol test led authorities to consider whether Rojas was on drugs instead. ABC7 says specific drug tests are pending.
People attend to an injured pedestrian a moment after a car plunged into them in Times Square. (Jewel Samad/Getty)
Powerful has obtained a police report from two thousand twelve in Florida that shows Rojas was accused of assaulting a cab driver and menacing to kill “all police,” albeit the case was dropped. You can read the police report here.
Two. The Teenage Tourist Who Died Was on Vacation With Her Family & Her Father Allegedly Threatened to Kill Rojas
Alyssa Elsman. (Facebook)
The victim who died was identified as Alyssa Elsman, an 18-year-old tourist in Fresh York with her family. She is from Michigan and had posted photos to social media in the past of trips to Fresh York.
Alyssa worked as a car hop for a Sonic Drive-in back home in Michigan, and she was on a family journey to Manhattan when she was killed. The teen’s sister was among the injured. You can read more about Elsman’s life here.
The Fresh York Post is reporting, through police sources, that Thomas Elsman, Alyssa’s father, “went to the police precinct where the suspect was being held … and threatened to kill him” after driving to Fresh York from Michigan following the tragedy. He was taken to a hospital to silent down, reported The Post.
A GoFundMe site has been set up to help Alyssa’s family.
Alyssa Elsman and her sister. (Instagram)
Elsman had posted a photo from Times Square in two thousand sixteen on social media.
Alyssa Elsman in Times Square in April 2016. (Facebook)
Four others were listed in critical condition after the crash but were expected to get through.
The scene was bloody. A witness told Reuters that “one person was covered with a bloodstained blanket after the collision.” The car crashed into a pole before stopping, reported Reuters.
The scene of the crash. (Getty)
According to CNN, the crash occurred about a mile from Trump Tower. CNN reported that Fresh York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill DeBlasio headed to the scene. The other victims have not yet been identified.
Three. A Planet Hollywood Bouncer Helped Detain the Suspect After the Car Sped the Wrong Way Down a Busy Street
People and a police officer attend to an injured person moments after a car plunged into them in Times Square in Fresh York on May Legitimate, 2017. (Getty)
Citizens at the scene rushed to stop the suspect when he emerged from his car and began running around the street. One of the critical people to intervene was Ken Bradix, a security guard at Planet Hollywood nearby.
“I turned around, I witnessed a car driving down 7th Avenue on the sidewalk and it was smoking,” Bradix said to Fox five Fresh York. “[The driver] was screaming — no particular words — but he was screaming and flailing his arms in all kinds of directions.”
According to the television station, “Bradix ran to the middle of the street and he and a traffic agent tackled Rojas to the ground while cops raced over to cuff him. He said Rojas seemed like he was on something.”
Bradix told the AP that Rojas “began screaming, no particular words but just utter screaming. He was swinging his arms at the same time. There was something wrong with him.” According to Big black cock, the suspect allegedly later told police he had heard voices.
Moments before, the car was speeding the wrong way down Seventh Avenue toward the busy tourist venue, reports The Fresh York Post.
Photos showcased the car “upended” on the sidewalk and injured people scattered on the pavement – eerily reminiscent of photos that emerged from London after a car incident there.
People and a police officer attend to an injured person moments after a car plunged into them in Times Square in Fresh York on May Legitimate, 2017. (Getty)
According to Fox News, “the vehicle was traveling against traffic and attempting to inject a pedestrian section of Times Square.” The area was “heavily populated with tourists,” reports Fox.
Reuters reported that at least ten people were injured when the car rammed into a crowd of pedestrians. That number then grew to twenty three injured, with one fatality.
“Social media posts from the scene displayed a crashed crimson sedan on the sidewalk,” the Daily Brute reported.
According to Reuters, the vehicle was speeding when it collided into the crowd of pedestrians in Times Square. “A speeding vehicle struck pedestrians on a sidewalk in Fresh York City’s Times Square on Thursday, according to an announcement at nearby Reuters news agency headquarters,” reported Reuters. Those injured were being treated at the scene, reported the news agency.
Four. Movies & Photos Demonstrated the Dramatic Scene
#ALERTA Vehículo embistió a varias personas en Nueva York, EEUU, dejando al menos twelve heridos en las aceras de Times Square pic.twitter.com/hUqqWP3pJA
As has been seen in other attacks, movies and photos of the incident’s aftermath circulated on social media. These were especially chilling. Movies showcased the actual moment the car struck people (warning, they are graphic), and the suspect was photographed hopping in the street and appearing crazed.
The moment Richard Rojas mowed down pedestrians in #TimesSquare. pic.twitter.com/y6MWP29oMV
— Based Monitored 🇺🇸 (@BasedMonitored) May Nineteen, 2017
Here’s another view:
NBC News reported that there was a massive police response to the scene. “Emergency response in Fresh York City’s Times Square due to incident involving a car reportedly hitting pedestrians,” the network tweeted.
wow, this is a crazy photo: Richard Rojas runs out of his car screaming right after running over twenty two people in Times Square pic.twitter.com/pZstEONi6b
The incident occurred around noon in Fresh York (Eastern Standard Time), a time framework when Times Square is particularly busy.
Five. Terrorists Have Used Vehicles to Ram Into Crowds, Which Heightened Unfounded Concerns in Fresh York
ISIS-fueled terrorists have used vehicles – generally large trucks – for terrorist attacks in European countries ranging from France to Germany. Most recently, a man rammed a car into a crowd of people near UK Parliament on Westminster Bridge. Fresh York police have beefed up patrols in the past around Times Square because of concerns about its high value nature as a target to terrorists.
However, albeit police have not tightly specified a motive, the earliest accounts don’t emerge to point toward terrorism. In this case, the suspect is a U.S. citizen, according to the mayor, who served in the U.S. military in Florida, Illinois and South Carolina.
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Nothing “unfounded” about concerns over terrorism when this is the type of attack that ISIS has been carrying out via Europe, and especially given the circumstances. I mean…high-speed, wrong-way driving on the sidewalk in Times Square ? Earnestly? That would be “unfounded”? This entire liberal apologist mentality needs to go away.
Oh and uh, that photo of him being taken away? Looks like potential ISIS material to me, just sayin’…
So was this an undocumented alien?
Clearly you don’t educate yourself before making racist remarks. He was a Navy Vet so do the math. Hard to be illegal veteran no?
Unfounded concerns? What the hell? A concern does not mean that the fear is factual… but the idea that this is an unfounded concern that it is terrorism is downright ridiculous. Awareness that ISIS cowards do this regularly means the concerns had validity. Geez….
That was my initial reaction as well. Just more “journalists” inserting their opinion instead of simply reporting the facts.
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Times Square Car Crash: five Swift Facts You Need to Know
Times Square Car Crash: five Swift Facts You Need to Know
A past mugshot of Richard Rojas.
A car, allegedly driven by a 26-year-old former Navy veteran from the Bronx, crashed onto a sidewalk in Times Square in Fresh York, injuring at least twenty three people, and killing a Michigan teenager on vacation.
The suspect was identified as Richard Rojas by Fox News and The Fresh York Post. Fresh York’s mayor said Rojas is a military veteran and U.S. citizen with an arrest history. He was charged with murder and attempted murder charges on May Nineteen.
The moment of the crash was captured in several graphic movies. You can witness them later in the story, but be aware that they are disturbing. Also disturbing: The chilling photos that emerged of Rojas leaping and looking crazed at the scene before he was restrained by Good Samaritans, including a Planet Hollywood bouncer.
PICTURES from Times Square via TMZ. One dead. Twenty two hurt. DUI Driver ID’d as Richard Rojas. pic.twitter.com/8TIlQ4CNuN
— Jason Martinez (@10NewsJason) May Eighteen, 2017
“You were supposed to shoot me! I dreamed to kill them,” Rojas, 26, allegedly told police, according to The Fresh York Post. The motive: He may have been attempting to commit “suicide by cop.”
Rojas, whose car allegedly leaped a sidewalk and killed 18-year-old Alyssa Elsman, was interested in Scientology, and police don’t think he was motivated by terrorism. However, ABC seven is reporting that he told police “he thought the end of the world was coming.”
Suspect Richard Rojas instantly after the incident in Times Square. Horrific scenes. https://t.co/BFfvtsAgXA pic.twitter.com/hcYiGKG4JT
The suspect “tested positive for PCP and told police that God made him do it,” CNN reported, adding that he expected officers to shoot him. However, authorities have not confirmed that account, and other news stations reported he may have been on synthetic marijuana, otherwise known as K2.
Police take 26-year-old Richard Rojas into custody following the deadly Times Square crash. pic.twitter.com/h8z2p3h71c
Early reports indicate the car crash was not terrorism-related, albeit obviously that was the initial concern because ISIS inspired terrorists have recently used vehicles as a modus operandi for attacks via Europe.
The NYPD said within an hour after the crash that the incident is not terrorism but is possibly related to buzzed driving. However, NBC News has now reported that Rojas blew a zero on a blood-alcohol test after the crash. The attention then shifted to drugs and mental health.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Witnesses Described ‘Clumps of People’ Lounging Injured in the Sidewalk
There are numerous injuries after a car hopped the sidewalk in Times Square. Warning this movie is graphic. pic.twitter.com/iPn8rp5LtJ
— Shayna Estulin (@ShaynaEstulin12) May Eighteen, 2017
The concerns about terrorism appeared to dissipate pretty quickly. However, Times Square was on lockdown after the incident, reports CBS. Rojas was captured at the scene after leaping and appearing enraged in the street.
Witnesses described a scene or horror.
A witness told Fox News, “We witnessed people laying on the sidewalk…with crowds of people laying around them. You could see clumps of people down the sidewalk with people all around them attempting to help them.”
A woman makes a phone call as others attend to an injured person after a car plunged into them. (Jewel Samad/Getty)
The Fresh York Fire Department referred to the incident as a “motor vehicle accident in Times Square.” According to Fox News, “several police sources told Fox News the incident appeared to be an accident. The NYPD press office had not yet confirmed that.” However, albeit not considered terrorism related, the suspect was scheduled to be arraigned on May nineteen after being hit with a string of criminal charges for murder and attempted murder.
According to the CBS Fresh York, the driver “has two prior DWIs.” He also had a latest arrest for menacing.
However, NBC’s report that he later tested zero on the alcohol test led authorities to consider whether Rojas was on drugs instead. ABC7 says specific drug tests are pending.
People attend to an injured pedestrian a moment after a car plunged into them in Times Square. (Jewel Samad/Getty)
Mighty has obtained a police report from two thousand twelve in Florida that shows Rojas was accused of assaulting a cab driver and menacing to kill “all police,” albeit the case was dropped. You can read the police report here.
Two. The Teenage Tourist Who Died Was on Vacation With Her Family & Her Father Allegedly Threatened to Kill Rojas
Alyssa Elsman. (Facebook)
The victim who died was identified as Alyssa Elsman, an 18-year-old tourist in Fresh York with her family. She is from Michigan and had posted photos to social media in the past of trips to Fresh York.
Alyssa worked as a car hop for a Sonic Drive-in back home in Michigan, and she was on a family excursion to Manhattan when she was killed. The teen’s sister was among the injured. You can read more about Elsman’s life here.
The Fresh York Post is reporting, through police sources, that Thomas Elsman, Alyssa’s father, “went to the police precinct where the suspect was being held … and threatened to kill him” after driving to Fresh York from Michigan following the tragedy. He was taken to a hospital to silent down, reported The Post.
A GoFundMe site has been set up to help Alyssa’s family.
Alyssa Elsman and her sister. (Instagram)
Elsman had posted a photo from Times Square in two thousand sixteen on social media.
Alyssa Elsman in Times Square in April 2016. (Facebook)
Four others were listed in critical condition after the crash but were expected to sustain.
The scene was bloody. A witness told Reuters that “one person was covered with a bloodstained blanket after the collision.” The car crashed into a pole before stopping, reported Reuters.
The scene of the crash. (Getty)
According to CNN, the crash occurred about a mile from Trump Tower. CNN reported that Fresh York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill DeBlasio headed to the scene. The other victims have not yet been identified.
Three. A Planet Hollywood Bouncer Helped Detain the Suspect After the Car Sped the Wrong Way Down a Busy Street
People and a police officer attend to an injured person moments after a car plunged into them in Times Square in Fresh York on May Legitimate, 2017. (Getty)
Citizens at the scene rushed to stop the suspect when he emerged from his car and began running around the street. One of the critical people to intervene was Ken Bradix, a security guard at Planet Hollywood nearby.
“I turned around, I spotted a car driving down 7th Avenue on the sidewalk and it was smoking,” Bradix said to Fox five Fresh York. “[The driver] was screaming — no particular words — but he was screaming and flailing his arms in all kinds of directions.”
According to the television station, “Bradix ran to the middle of the street and he and a traffic agent tackled Rojas to the ground while cops raced over to cuff him. He said Rojas seemed like he was on something.”
Bradix told the AP that Rojas “began screaming, no particular words but just utter screaming. He was swinging his arms at the same time. There was something wrong with him.” According to Big black cock, the suspect allegedly later told police he had heard voices.
Moments before, the car was speeding the wrong way down Seventh Avenue toward the busy tourist venue, reports The Fresh York Post.
Photos displayed the car “upended” on the sidewalk and injured people scattered on the pavement – eerily reminiscent of pictures that emerged from London after a car incident there.
People and a police officer attend to an injured person moments after a car plunged into them in Times Square in Fresh York on May Legal, 2017. (Getty)
According to Fox News, “the vehicle was traveling against traffic and attempting to come in a pedestrian section of Times Square.” The area was “heavily populated with tourists,” reports Fox.
Reuters reported that at least ten people were injured when the car rammed into a crowd of pedestrians. That number then grew to twenty three injured, with one fatality.
“Social media posts from the scene displayed a crashed crimson sedan on the sidewalk,” the Daily Animal reported.
According to Reuters, the vehicle was speeding when it collided into the crowd of pedestrians in Times Square. “A speeding vehicle struck pedestrians on a sidewalk in Fresh York City’s Times Square on Thursday, according to an announcement at nearby Reuters news agency headquarters,” reported Reuters. Those injured were being treated at the scene, reported the news agency.
Four. Movies & Photos Demonstrated the Dramatic Scene
#ALERTA Vehículo embistió a varias personas en Nueva York, EEUU, dejando al menos twelve heridos en las aceras de Times Square pic.twitter.com/hUqqWP3pJA
As has been seen in other attacks, movies and photos of the incident’s aftermath circulated on social media. These were especially chilling. Movies displayed the actual moment the car struck people (warning, they are graphic), and the suspect was photographed hopping in the street and appearing crazed.
The moment Richard Rojas mowed down pedestrians in #TimesSquare. pic.twitter.com/y6MWP29oMV
— Based Monitored 🇺🇸 (@BasedMonitored) May Nineteen, 2017
Here’s another view:
NBC News reported that there was a massive police response to the scene. “Emergency response in Fresh York City’s Times Square due to incident involving a car reportedly hitting pedestrians,” the network tweeted.
wow, this is a crazy photo: Richard Rojas runs out of his car screaming right after running over twenty two people in Times Square pic.twitter.com/pZstEONi6b
The incident occurred around noon in Fresh York (Eastern Standard Time), a time framework when Times Square is particularly busy.
Five. Terrorists Have Used Vehicles to Ram Into Crowds, Which Heightened Unfounded Concerns in Fresh York
ISIS-fueled terrorists have used vehicles – generally large trucks – for terrorist attacks in European countries ranging from France to Germany. Most recently, a man rammed a car into a crowd of people near UK Parliament on Westminster Bridge. Fresh York police have beefed up patrols in the past around Times Square because of concerns about its high value nature as a target to terrorists.
However, albeit police have not tightly specified a motive, the earliest accounts don’t emerge to point toward terrorism. In this case, the suspect is a U.S. citizen, according to the mayor, who served in the U.S. military in Florida, Illinois and South Carolina.
Read More
9 Comments
Leave a Reply Cancel reply
Nothing “unfounded” about concerns over terrorism when this is the type of attack that ISIS has been carrying out via Europe, and especially given the circumstances. I mean…high-speed, wrong-way driving on the sidewalk in Times Square ? Gravely? That would be “unfounded”? This entire liberal apologist mentality needs to go away.
Oh and uh, that photo of him being taken away? Looks like potential ISIS material to me, just sayin’…
So was this an undocumented alien?
Clearly you don’t educate yourself before making racist remarks. He was a Navy Vet so do the math. Hard to be illegal veteran no?
Unfounded concerns? What the hell? A concern does not mean that the fear is factual… but the idea that this is an unfounded concern that it is terrorism is totally ridiculous. Awareness that ISIS cowards do this regularly means the concerns had validity. Geez….
That was my initial reaction as well. Just more “journalists” inserting their opinion instead of simply reporting the facts.
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