Home » news about cars » Times Square car crash kills 1, injures 22; Navy veteran cuffed – NY Daily News

Times Square car crash kills 1, injures 22; Navy veteran cuffed – NY Daily News

Wrong-way Times Square car crash kills one, injures 22; drug-addled Navy veteran with DWI history arrested

With voices in his head and drugs in his system, a deranged motorist drove his car onto a crowded Times Square sidewalk and mowed down twenty three pedestrians — including an 18-year-old Michigan woman who died in front of her little sister.

Richard Rojas’ maroon Honda Accord carved a three-block path of destruction along Seventh Ave. just before noon on Thursday. Stunning movie shows the car knocking down pedestrians like bowling pins, with bods threw through the air from the influence.

“It looked like he was attempting to hit them,” said witness Annie Donahey, 24. “He wasn’t attempting to go back on the street.”

The 26-year-old Bronx man’s rampage ended when he slammed into a metal barrier at W. 45th St.

The Navy vet climbed from his crumpled car, but was grabbed by a pair of bystanders and held for cops, witnesses said.

The crazed motorist, who has two prior DWI arrests, was believed to be high on drugs and wracked by delusional thoughts, sources said.

Police arrest 26-year-old Richard Rojas, who has a criminal history of impaired driving, at the scene of the crash.

Sources said Rojas told cops something along the lines of, “This was the last day on Earth.”

He claimed to hear voices and suggested that he believed officers were going to kill him.

“This wasn’t like a normal interview,” a source said. “He’s rambling.”

Rojas was charged with murder, twenty counts of attempted murder and five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide late Thursday.

Investigators were certain tests would expose he had used drugs, sources said. One source said it appeared he was high on PCP.

A wrecked vehicle sits at the intersection of 45th St. and Broadway in Times Square.

Michigan tourist Alyssa Elsman died at the scene. Her 13-year-old sister Ava was injured and was being treated late Thursday at Bellevue Hospital, officials said. The women were visiting the city with their mother and planned to come back home on Tuesday.

Four victims were rushed to area hospitals in critical condition. They suffered “open fractures and numerous traumas,” but the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, said FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro.

Three suffered serious injuries, and fifteen others sustained minor injuries, authorities said.

“This is a rough day for Fresh York City, but as usual, the people of Fresh York City will stand rigid, will be resilient,” Mayor de Blasio said.

De Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill rushed to the scene fearing that the incident was an act of terror.

In a news conference at the scene, they repeated several times that the incident didn’t emerge to be tied to terrorism.

“The worst went through my mind, and that’s why the mayor and I came here as quickly as we could,” O’Neill said.

Rojas was traveling south on Seventh Ave. at 11:55 a.m. when he made a acute U-turn and roared onto the sidewalk at W. 42nd St., cops said. The car barreled into almost two dozen pedestrians as it sped north along three blocks, cops said. Witnesses said the driver kept going even as a assets clung to his windshield.

The dramatic movie shows the car swerving into a half-dozen people strolling along the sidewalk. The vehicle hurls the unsuspicious pedestrians into the air before speeding out of the framework.

Donahey said she heard several sickening “thuds.”

Alyssa Elsman, Eighteen, was killed in Times Square Thursday after a car struck her and twenty two other pedestrians.

“It was the sounds of bods being hit. Then came the screams,” she said.

“People were leaping out of the way, but he just kept going.”

Street vendor Duane Jackson, 46, said he was checking his email when he heard the sound of a car skidding and spotted pedestrians dashing out of the way.

The vehicle slammed into the cylindrical barriers arrayed along the corner of W. 45th St. The Honda flipped onto its side, its windshield smashed and fetish mask on fire.

“Thank God that he hit it or he would have went right into Swatch,” Jackson said, referring to a nearby observe and accessories store.

Rojas, 26, was walked out of the 7th Precinct in Manhattan on Thursday afternoon.

Rojas wriggled out of his crushed car, but he didn’t get far.

A tour bus ticket agent and Planet Hollywood bouncer grabbed the motorist.

“He was on something, undoubtedly,” said witness Anthony McInnis, 49. “He was sweating like crazy. He was erratic.”

Rojas’ Honda left behind a trail of wounded victims, pools of blood and scattered car parts.

“It was total chaos, total shock,” said Kelly Graves, 54, a tourist from Wisconsin.

An injured woman lies on the sidewalk after the brutal collision.

“You didn’t know what happened until you actually witnessed people and the police running and people laying on the sidewalk.”

Rojas, sporting blood wipes on his left cheek and temple, said nothing as he was led out of the 7th Precinct stationhouse about seven p.m. Thursday.

He was arrested for driving while impaired in two thousand fifteen in Manhattan, and again in two thousand eight in Queens. His most latest bust came on May eleven when prosecutors say he pulled a knife on a man inwards his Morris Heights apartment.

“Do you feel safe? You stole my identity,” Rojas told the man while gripping his neck, according to court records.

Rojas was charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.

Rojas, pictured in a two thousand twelve mugshot from Florida police, has been charged with murder and twenty counts of attempted murder.

A close friend said Rojas wasn’t the same after leaving the Navy in May 2014.

“He was having bad nightmares. He’s talking crazy,” said Harrison Ramos, 30.

“His medicine was buying liquor to leave behind everything. He was talking about demons, and demons and conspiracies. He was drinking a lot lately.”

Rojas, who enlisted in September 2011, spent two months in the brig in Charleston, S.C., according to CBS News. He was accused of hitting a cab driver on a naval base in Jacksonville, Fla., after refusing to pay a $44 fare.

“He did not come back normal,” Ramos said.

The car barreled into almost two dozen pedestrians as it sped along the sidewalk for more than three blocks, cops said.

“I witnessed him about a week ago. He seemed a little lost in the world. He wasn’t in all of his five senses.”

Police said Rojas was obsessed with Scientology and had accumulated piles of literature on the controversial religion.

Other friends said Rojas, who was attempting to work in real estate, had just gotten back his Honda after it had been repossessed.

The Navy vet went out drinking Wednesday night and appeared to be in good spirits.

“This is indeed crazy,” said pal Jose Medrano. “He doesn’t cause trouble. This is truly weird. He’s a low-key person. He’s a family man.”

William Nelson, 64, suffered head and gam injuries from the crash.

Among the thirteen victims rushed to Bellevue Hospital was retired teacher William Nelson, 64.

Nelson, of Park Slope, Brooklyn, suffered head and gam injuries but was responding to instructions, relatives said.

“He squeezed his arm and wiggled his toes,” said son William Jr., whose sister was also at the hospital. “He’s on a breathing tube and is intensely sedated. It’s indeed hard for both of us. We just lost our mother and now our father’s upstairs.”

Ariel Lebowits, 39, a Brooklyn father of two, suffered a concussion and bruised face.

“He doesn’t even reminisce a car hitting him,” said his brother Chaim Lebowits, 34. “Thank God he’s all right.”

Thomas Henry, 72, of Queens, was taking his relatives from Guyana on a sightseeing tour when the car leaped the sidewalk and bore down on them.

Henry’s face was bruised and he had a large knot on the back of his head as he left the hospital supported by his daughter.

“In my mind I could see this dark-colored car, I did not know, I thought it was a fantasy,” he said. “Then I realized it was not an accident, it was reality.”

FDNY Chief Mark Foris, of Battalion 9, and his team had rescued nine people trapped in a Times Square elevator before he stepped outside in time to witness the carnage.

The car smashed into the barrier and caught fire before his eyes.

“There was a person unconscious right next to the car,” Foris said.

“As I continued down, I realized that this wasn’t one or two injuries. This was a mass casualty incident,” Foris recalled. “I told my aide, ‘We need a lot of units.’”

Rojas was being held at the Midtown South precinct station house. He was originally taken to Bellevue Hospital, but it was not clear if it was for a physical injury or a psychiatric evaluation.

Times Square car crash kills 1, injures 22; Navy veteran cuffed – NY Daily News

Wrong-way Times Square car crash kills one, injures 22; drug-addled Navy veteran with DWI history arrested

With voices in his head and drugs in his system, a deranged motorist drove his car onto a crowded Times Square sidewalk and mowed down twenty three pedestrians — including an 18-year-old Michigan woman who died in front of her little sister.

Richard Rojas’ maroon Honda Accord carved a three-block path of destruction along Seventh Ave. just before noon on Thursday. Stunning movie shows the car knocking down pedestrians like bowling pins, with bods threw through the air from the influence.

“It looked like he was attempting to hit them,” said witness Annie Donahey, 24. “He wasn’t attempting to go back on the street.”

The 26-year-old Bronx man’s rampage ended when he slammed into a metal barrier at W. 45th St.

The Navy vet climbed from his crumpled car, but was grabbed by a pair of bystanders and held for cops, witnesses said.

The crazed motorist, who has two prior DWI arrests, was believed to be high on drugs and wracked by delusional thoughts, sources said.

Police arrest 26-year-old Richard Rojas, who has a criminal history of impaired driving, at the scene of the crash.

Sources said Rojas told cops something along the lines of, “This was the last day on Earth.”

He claimed to hear voices and suggested that he believed officers were going to kill him.

“This wasn’t like a normal interview,” a source said. “He’s rambling.”

Rojas was charged with murder, twenty counts of attempted murder and five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide late Thursday.

Investigators were certain tests would expose he had used drugs, sources said. One source said it appeared he was high on PCP.

A wrecked vehicle sits at the intersection of 45th St. and Broadway in Times Square.

Michigan tourist Alyssa Elsman died at the scene. Her 13-year-old sister Ava was injured and was being treated late Thursday at Bellevue Hospital, officials said. The ladies were visiting the city with their mother and planned to comeback home on Tuesday.

Four victims were rushed to area hospitals in critical condition. They suffered “open fractures and numerous traumas,” but the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, said FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro.

Three suffered serious injuries, and fifteen others sustained minor injuries, authorities said.

“This is a rough day for Fresh York City, but as usual, the people of Fresh York City will stand rock-hard, will be resilient,” Mayor de Blasio said.

De Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill rushed to the scene fearing that the incident was an act of terror.

In a news conference at the scene, they repeated several times that the incident didn’t emerge to be tied to terrorism.

“The worst went through my mind, and that’s why the mayor and I came here as quickly as we could,” O’Neill said.

Rojas was traveling south on Seventh Ave. at 11:55 a.m. when he made a acute U-turn and roared onto the sidewalk at W. 42nd St., cops said. The car barreled into almost two dozen pedestrians as it sped north along three blocks, cops said. Witnesses said the driver kept going even as a figure clung to his windshield.

The dramatic movie shows the car swerving into a half-dozen people strolling along the sidewalk. The vehicle hurls the unsuspicious pedestrians into the air before speeding out of the framework.

Donahey said she heard several sickening “thuds.”

Alyssa Elsman, Legal, was killed in Times Square Thursday after a car struck her and twenty two other pedestrians.

“It was the sounds of figures being hit. Then came the screams,” she said.

“People were hopping out of the way, but he just kept going.”

Street vendor Duane Jackson, 46, said he was checking his email when he heard the sound of a car skidding and witnessed pedestrians dashing out of the way.

The vehicle slammed into the cylindrical barriers arrayed along the corner of W. 45th St. The Honda flipped onto its side, its windshield smashed and spandex hood on fire.

“Thank God that he hit it or he would have went right into Swatch,” Jackson said, referring to a nearby see and accessories store.

Rojas, 26, was walked out of the 7th Precinct in Manhattan on Thursday afternoon.

Rojas wriggled out of his crushed car, but he didn’t get far.

A tour bus ticket agent and Planet Hollywood bouncer grabbed the motorist.

“He was on something, undoubtedly,” said witness Anthony McInnis, 49. “He was sweating like crazy. He was erratic.”

Rojas’ Honda left behind a trail of wounded victims, pools of blood and scattered car parts.

“It was total chaos, total shock,” said Kelly Graves, 54, a tourist from Wisconsin.

An injured woman lies on the sidewalk after the brutal collision.

“You didn’t know what happened until you actually witnessed people and the police running and people laying on the sidewalk.”

Rojas, sporting blood wipes on his left cheek and temple, said nothing as he was led out of the 7th Precinct stationhouse about seven p.m. Thursday.

He was arrested for driving while impaired in two thousand fifteen in Manhattan, and again in two thousand eight in Queens. His most latest bust came on May eleven when prosecutors say he pulled a knife on a man inwards his Morris Heights apartment.

“Do you feel safe? You stole my identity,” Rojas told the man while gripping his neck, according to court records.

Rojas was charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.

Rojas, pictured in a two thousand twelve mugshot from Florida police, has been charged with murder and twenty counts of attempted murder.

A close friend said Rojas wasn’t the same after leaving the Navy in May 2014.

“He was having bad nightmares. He’s talking crazy,” said Harrison Ramos, 30.

“His medicine was buying liquor to leave behind everything. He was talking about demons, and demons and conspiracies. He was drinking a lot lately.”

Rojas, who enlisted in September 2011, spent two months in the brig in Charleston, S.C., according to CBS News. He was accused of striking a cab driver on a naval base in Jacksonville, Fla., after refusing to pay a $44 fare.

“He did not come back normal,” Ramos said.

The car barreled into almost two dozen pedestrians as it sped along the sidewalk for more than three blocks, cops said.

“I spotted him about a week ago. He seemed a little lost in the world. He wasn’t in all of his five senses.”

Police said Rojas was obsessed with Scientology and had accumulated piles of literature on the controversial religion.

Other friends said Rojas, who was attempting to work in real estate, had just gotten back his Honda after it had been repossessed.

The Navy vet went out drinking Wednesday night and appeared to be in good spirits.

“This is truly crazy,” said pal Jose Medrano. “He doesn’t cause trouble. This is truly weird. He’s a low-key person. He’s a family man.”

William Nelson, 64, suffered head and gam injuries from the crash.

Among the thirteen victims rushed to Bellevue Hospital was retired teacher William Nelson, 64.

Nelson, of Park Slope, Brooklyn, suffered head and gam injuries but was responding to directions, relatives said.

“He squeezed his palm and wiggled his toes,” said son William Jr., whose sister was also at the hospital. “He’s on a breathing tube and is intensely sedated. It’s indeed hard for both of us. We just lost our mother and now our father’s upstairs.”

Ariel Lebowits, 39, a Brooklyn father of two, suffered a concussion and bruised face.

“He doesn’t even recall a car hitting him,” said his brother Chaim Lebowits, 34. “Thank God he’s all right.”

Thomas Henry, 72, of Queens, was taking his relatives from Guyana on a sightseeing tour when the car leaped the sidewalk and bore down on them.

Henry’s face was bruised and he had a large knot on the back of his head as he left the hospital supported by his daughter.

“In my mind I could see this dark-colored car, I did not know, I thought it was a wish,” he said. “Then I realized it was not an accident, it was reality.”

FDNY Chief Mark Foris, of Battalion 9, and his team had rescued nine people trapped in a Times Square elevator before he stepped outside in time to witness the carnage.

The car smashed into the barrier and caught fire before his eyes.

“There was a person unconscious right next to the car,” Foris said.

“As I continued down, I realized that this wasn’t one or two injuries. This was a mass casualty incident,” Foris recalled. “I told my aide, ‘We need a lot of units.’”

Rojas was being held at the Midtown South precinct station house. He was originally taken to Bellevue Hospital, but it was not clear if it was for a physical injury or a psychiatric evaluation.

Times Square car crash kills 1, injures 22; Navy veteran cuffed – NY Daily News

Wrong-way Times Square car crash kills one, injures 22; drug-addled Navy veteran with DWI history arrested

With voices in his head and drugs in his system, a deranged motorist drove his car onto a crowded Times Square sidewalk and mowed down twenty three pedestrians — including an 18-year-old Michigan woman who died in front of her little sister.

Richard Rojas’ maroon Honda Accord carved a three-block path of destruction along Seventh Ave. just before noon on Thursday. Stunning movie shows the car knocking down pedestrians like bowling pins, with figures threw through the air from the influence.

“It looked like he was attempting to hit them,” said witness Annie Donahey, 24. “He wasn’t attempting to go back on the street.”

The 26-year-old Bronx man’s rampage ended when he slammed into a metal barrier at W. 45th St.

The Navy vet climbed from his crumpled car, but was grabbed by a pair of bystanders and held for cops, witnesses said.

The crazed motorist, who has two prior DWI arrests, was believed to be high on drugs and wracked by delusional thoughts, sources said.

Police arrest 26-year-old Richard Rojas, who has a criminal history of impaired driving, at the scene of the crash.

Sources said Rojas told cops something along the lines of, “This was the last day on Earth.”

He claimed to hear voices and suggested that he believed officers were going to kill him.

“This wasn’t like a normal interview,” a source said. “He’s rambling.”

Rojas was charged with murder, twenty counts of attempted murder and five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide late Thursday.

Investigators were certain tests would expose he had used drugs, sources said. One source said it appeared he was high on PCP.

A wrecked vehicle sits at the intersection of 45th St. and Broadway in Times Square.

Michigan tourist Alyssa Elsman died at the scene. Her 13-year-old sister Ava was injured and was being treated late Thursday at Bellevue Hospital, officials said. The ladies were visiting the city with their mother and planned to comeback home on Tuesday.

Four victims were rushed to area hospitals in critical condition. They suffered “open fractures and numerous traumas,” but the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, said FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro.

Three suffered serious injuries, and fifteen others sustained minor injuries, authorities said.

“This is a harsh day for Fresh York City, but as usual, the people of Fresh York City will stand rock-hard, will be resilient,” Mayor de Blasio said.

De Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill rushed to the scene fearing that the incident was an act of terror.

In a news conference at the scene, they repeated several times that the incident didn’t show up to be tied to terrorism.

“The worst went through my mind, and that’s why the mayor and I came here as quickly as we could,” O’Neill said.

Rojas was traveling south on Seventh Ave. at 11:55 a.m. when he made a acute U-turn and roared onto the sidewalk at W. 42nd St., cops said. The car barreled into almost two dozen pedestrians as it sped north along three blocks, cops said. Witnesses said the driver kept going even as a bod clung to his windshield.

The dramatic movie shows the car swerving into a half-dozen people strolling along the sidewalk. The vehicle hurls the unaware pedestrians into the air before speeding out of the framework.

Donahey said she heard several sickening “thuds.”

Alyssa Elsman, Legal, was killed in Times Square Thursday after a car struck her and twenty two other pedestrians.

“It was the sounds of bods being hit. Then came the screams,” she said.

“People were leaping out of the way, but he just kept going.”

Street vendor Duane Jackson, 46, said he was checking his email when he heard the sound of a car skidding and eyed pedestrians dashing out of the way.

The vehicle slammed into the cylindrical barriers arrayed along the corner of W. 45th St. The Honda flipped onto its side, its windshield smashed and fetish mask on fire.

“Thank God that he hit it or he would have went right into Swatch,” Jackson said, referring to a nearby witness and accessories store.

Rojas, 26, was walked out of the 7th Precinct in Manhattan on Thursday afternoon.

Rojas wriggled out of his crushed car, but he didn’t get far.

A tour bus ticket agent and Planet Hollywood bouncer grabbed the motorist.

“He was on something, undoubtedly,” said witness Anthony McInnis, 49. “He was sweating like crazy. He was erratic.”

Rojas’ Honda left behind a trail of wounded victims, pools of blood and scattered car parts.

“It was total chaos, total shock,” said Kelly Graves, 54, a tourist from Wisconsin.

An injured woman lies on the sidewalk after the brutal collision.

“You didn’t know what happened until you actually spotted people and the police running and people laying on the sidewalk.”

Rojas, sporting blood wipes on his left cheek and temple, said nothing as he was led out of the 7th Precinct stationhouse about seven p.m. Thursday.

He was arrested for driving while impaired in two thousand fifteen in Manhattan, and again in two thousand eight in Queens. His most latest bust came on May eleven when prosecutors say he pulled a knife on a man inwards his Morris Heights apartment.

“Do you feel safe? You stole my identity,” Rojas told the man while gripping his neck, according to court records.

Rojas was charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.

Rojas, pictured in a two thousand twelve mugshot from Florida police, has been charged with murder and twenty counts of attempted murder.

A close friend said Rojas wasn’t the same after leaving the Navy in May 2014.

“He was having bad nightmares. He’s talking crazy,” said Harrison Ramos, 30.

“His medicine was buying liquor to leave behind everything. He was talking about demons, and demons and conspiracies. He was drinking a lot lately.”

Rojas, who enlisted in September 2011, spent two months in the brig in Charleston, S.C., according to CBS News. He was accused of hammering a cab driver on a naval base in Jacksonville, Fla., after refusing to pay a $44 fare.

“He did not come back normal,” Ramos said.

The car barreled into almost two dozen pedestrians as it sped along the sidewalk for more than three blocks, cops said.

“I eyed him about a week ago. He seemed a little lost in the world. He wasn’t in all of his five senses.”

Police said Rojas was obsessed with Scientology and had accumulated piles of literature on the controversial religion.

Other friends said Rojas, who was attempting to work in real estate, had just gotten back his Honda after it had been repossessed.

The Navy vet went out drinking Wednesday night and appeared to be in good spirits.

“This is indeed crazy,” said pal Jose Medrano. “He doesn’t cause trouble. This is truly weird. He’s a low-key person. He’s a family man.”

William Nelson, 64, suffered head and gam injuries from the crash.

Among the thirteen victims rushed to Bellevue Hospital was retired teacher William Nelson, 64.

Nelson, of Park Slope, Brooklyn, suffered head and gam injuries but was responding to directives, relatives said.

“He squeezed his forearm and wiggled his toes,” said son William Jr., whose sister was also at the hospital. “He’s on a breathing tube and is strongly sedated. It’s truly hard for both of us. We just lost our mother and now our father’s upstairs.”

Ariel Lebowits, 39, a Brooklyn father of two, suffered a concussion and bruised face.

“He doesn’t even recall a car hitting him,” said his brother Chaim Lebowits, 34. “Thank God he’s all right.”

Thomas Henry, 72, of Queens, was taking his relatives from Guyana on a sightseeing tour when the car hopped the sidewalk and bore down on them.

Henry’s face was bruised and he had a large knot on the back of his head as he left the hospital supported by his daughter.

“In my mind I could see this dark-colored car, I did not know, I thought it was a desire,” he said. “Then I realized it was not an accident, it was reality.”

FDNY Chief Mark Foris, of Battalion 9, and his team had rescued nine people trapped in a Times Square elevator before he stepped outside in time to witness the carnage.

The car smashed into the barrier and caught fire before his eyes.

“There was a person unconscious right next to the car,” Foris said.

“As I continued down, I realized that this wasn’t one or two injuries. This was a mass casualty incident,” Foris recalled. “I told my aide, ‘We need a lot of units.’”

Rojas was being held at the Midtown South precinct station house. He was originally taken to Bellevue Hospital, but it was not clear if it was for a physical injury or a psychiatric evaluation.

Times Square car crash kills 1, injures 22; Navy veteran cuffed – NY Daily News

Wrong-way Times Square car crash kills one, injures 22; drug-addled Navy veteran with DWI history arrested

With voices in his head and drugs in his system, a deranged motorist drove his car onto a crowded Times Square sidewalk and mowed down twenty three pedestrians — including an 18-year-old Michigan woman who died in front of her little sister.

Richard Rojas’ maroon Honda Accord carved a three-block path of destruction along Seventh Ave. just before noon on Thursday. Stunning movie shows the car knocking down pedestrians like bowling pins, with figures threw through the air from the influence.

“It looked like he was attempting to hit them,” said witness Annie Donahey, 24. “He wasn’t attempting to go back on the street.”

The 26-year-old Bronx man’s rampage ended when he slammed into a metal barrier at W. 45th St.

The Navy vet climbed from his crumpled car, but was grabbed by a pair of bystanders and held for cops, witnesses said.

The crazed motorist, who has two prior DWI arrests, was believed to be high on drugs and wracked by delusional thoughts, sources said.

Police arrest 26-year-old Richard Rojas, who has a criminal history of impaired driving, at the scene of the crash.

Sources said Rojas told cops something along the lines of, “This was the last day on Earth.”

He claimed to hear voices and suggested that he believed officers were going to kill him.

“This wasn’t like a normal interview,” a source said. “He’s rambling.”

Rojas was charged with murder, twenty counts of attempted murder and five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide late Thursday.

Investigators were certain tests would expose he had used drugs, sources said. One source said it appeared he was high on PCP.

A wrecked vehicle sits at the intersection of 45th St. and Broadway in Times Square.

Michigan tourist Alyssa Elsman died at the scene. Her 13-year-old sister Ava was injured and was being treated late Thursday at Bellevue Hospital, officials said. The ladies were visiting the city with their mother and planned to comeback home on Tuesday.

Four victims were rushed to area hospitals in critical condition. They suffered “open fractures and numerous traumas,” but the injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, said FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro.

Three suffered serious injuries, and fifteen others sustained minor injuries, authorities said.

“This is a rough day for Fresh York City, but as usual, the people of Fresh York City will stand rigid, will be resilient,” Mayor de Blasio said.

De Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill rushed to the scene fearing that the incident was an act of terror.

In a news conference at the scene, they repeated several times that the incident didn’t show up to be tied to terrorism.

“The worst went through my mind, and that’s why the mayor and I came here as quickly as we could,” O’Neill said.

Rojas was traveling south on Seventh Ave. at 11:55 a.m. when he made a acute U-turn and roared onto the sidewalk at W. 42nd St., cops said. The car barreled into almost two dozen pedestrians as it sped north along three blocks, cops said. Witnesses said the driver kept going even as a figure clung to his windshield.

The dramatic movie shows the car swerving into a half-dozen people strolling along the sidewalk. The vehicle hurls the unsuspicious pedestrians into the air before speeding out of the framework.

Donahey said she heard several sickening “thuds.”

Alyssa Elsman, Legitimate, was killed in Times Square Thursday after a car struck her and twenty two other pedestrians.

“It was the sounds of bods being hit. Then came the screams,” she said.

“People were hopping out of the way, but he just kept going.”

Street vendor Duane Jackson, 46, said he was checking his email when he heard the sound of a car skidding and witnessed pedestrians dashing out of the way.

The vehicle slammed into the cylindrical barriers arrayed along the corner of W. 45th St. The Honda flipped onto its side, its windshield smashed and fetish mask on fire.

“Thank God that he hit it or he would have went right into Swatch,” Jackson said, referring to a nearby witness and accessories store.

Rojas, 26, was walked out of the 7th Precinct in Manhattan on Thursday afternoon.

Rojas wriggled out of his crushed car, but he didn’t get far.

A tour bus ticket agent and Planet Hollywood bouncer grabbed the motorist.

“He was on something, certainly,” said witness Anthony McInnis, 49. “He was sweating like crazy. He was erratic.”

Rojas’ Honda left behind a trail of wounded victims, pools of blood and scattered car parts.

“It was total chaos, total shock,” said Kelly Graves, 54, a tourist from Wisconsin.

An injured woman lies on the sidewalk after the brutal collision.

“You didn’t know what happened until you actually witnessed people and the police running and people laying on the sidewalk.”

Rojas, sporting blood wipes on his left cheek and temple, said nothing as he was led out of the 7th Precinct stationhouse about seven p.m. Thursday.

He was arrested for driving while impaired in two thousand fifteen in Manhattan, and again in two thousand eight in Queens. His most latest bust came on May eleven when prosecutors say he pulled a knife on a man inwards his Morris Heights apartment.

“Do you feel safe? You stole my identity,” Rojas told the man while gripping his neck, according to court records.

Rojas was charged with menacing and criminal possession of a weapon.

Rojas, pictured in a two thousand twelve mugshot from Florida police, has been charged with murder and twenty counts of attempted murder.

A close friend said Rojas wasn’t the same after leaving the Navy in May 2014.

“He was having bad nightmares. He’s talking crazy,” said Harrison Ramos, 30.

“His medicine was buying liquor to leave behind everything. He was talking about demons, and satans and conspiracies. He was drinking a lot lately.”

Rojas, who enlisted in September 2011, spent two months in the brig in Charleston, S.C., according to CBS News. He was accused of hitting a cab driver on a naval base in Jacksonville, Fla., after refusing to pay a $44 fare.

“He did not come back normal,” Ramos said.

The car barreled into almost two dozen pedestrians as it sped along the sidewalk for more than three blocks, cops said.

“I witnessed him about a week ago. He seemed a little lost in the world. He wasn’t in all of his five senses.”

Police said Rojas was obsessed with Scientology and had accumulated piles of literature on the controversial religion.

Other friends said Rojas, who was attempting to work in real estate, had just gotten back his Honda after it had been repossessed.

The Navy vet went out drinking Wednesday night and appeared to be in good spirits.

“This is indeed crazy,” said pal Jose Medrano. “He doesn’t cause trouble. This is truly weird. He’s a low-key person. He’s a family man.”

William Nelson, 64, suffered head and gam injuries from the crash.

Among the thirteen victims rushed to Bellevue Hospital was retired teacher William Nelson, 64.

Nelson, of Park Slope, Brooklyn, suffered head and gam injuries but was responding to guidelines, relatives said.

“He squeezed his palm and wiggled his toes,” said son William Jr., whose sister was also at the hospital. “He’s on a breathing tube and is intensely sedated. It’s truly hard for both of us. We just lost our mother and now our father’s upstairs.”

Ariel Lebowits, 39, a Brooklyn father of two, suffered a concussion and bruised face.

“He doesn’t even recall a car hitting him,” said his brother Chaim Lebowits, 34. “Thank God he’s all right.”

Thomas Henry, 72, of Queens, was taking his relatives from Guyana on a sightseeing tour when the car leaped the sidewalk and bore down on them.

Henry’s face was bruised and he had a large knot on the back of his head as he left the hospital supported by his daughter.

“In my mind I could see this dark-colored car, I did not know, I thought it was a wish,” he said. “Then I realized it was not an accident, it was reality.”

FDNY Chief Mark Foris, of Battalion 9, and his team had rescued nine people trapped in a Times Square elevator before he stepped outside in time to witness the carnage.

The car smashed into the barrier and caught fire before his eyes.

“There was a person unconscious right next to the car,” Foris said.

“As I continued down, I realized that this wasn’t one or two injuries. This was a mass casualty incident,” Foris recalled. “I told my aide, ‘We need a lot of units.’”

Rojas was being held at the Midtown South precinct station house. He was primarily taken to Bellevue Hospital, but it was not clear if it was for a physical injury or a psychiatric evaluation.

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