Driver who crashed into Times Square told the police “heard voices”
The man who drove a car along three blocks of pavement in New York’s Times Square, killing one person and injuring 22 people, said he had “heard voices”, according to law enforcement sources. The driver, a US navy veteran named as Richard Rojas, was arrested at the scene by the NYPD officers.
The 26-year-old had been arrested at least four times before for offences including drunk driving and threatening someone.
Richard Rojas ploughed into people on the sidewalk in his burgundy Honda sedan and sped three blocks through one of the city’s busiest areas, killing one pedestrian and injuring 22 before crashing into a metal stanchion, police said.
Rojas returned from his Navy service with a drinking problem and had posted “crazy stuff” on social media, said a friend, Harrison Ramos, speaking to Reuters outside the apartment building where Rojas lives in New York City’s Bronx borough.
What we know so far about Richard Rojas, driver in deadly Times Square crash https://t.co/0oO5u8w6b2 pic.twitter.com/kZ71mPaiM6
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 19, 2017
“Don’t make him out to be a terrorist or something,” Ramos said. “He served his country and when he came back, nobody helped him.”
Rojas attended college and works in real estate, Ramos said.
NEW: Suspect charged with murder, 20 counts of attempted murder after car plows into crowd in NYC's Times Square. https://t.co/FexBTMzGrF pic.twitter.com/nKQQsTSy1y
— ABC News (@ABC) May 19, 2017
“He went through a real tough time,” Ramos said, adding that he had lost contact with Rojas. “That’s my friend. I care about him, and it hurts.”
Only a week ago, Rojas was arrested at his apartment in the Bronx for threatening another man with a knife.
“Do you feel safe? You stole my identity,” Rojas told the man, grabbing his neck in one hand while brandishing the knife in the other, according to a police spokeswoman. She did not have additional details.
Who "accidentally" runs into a crowd of 20 people at Times Square with a car, and then runs around like a monster?#TimesSquare#NoAccident pic.twitter.com/UQ50QKvyDp
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) May 18, 2017
He was charged with menacing and possession of a weapon, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to harassment, a violation, and was not sentenced to any prison time.
Rojas was also charged with drunken driving in 2008 and 2015, according to New York City police. The state motor vehicle department confirmed he was convicted of driving while impaired in both cases but still had a valid driver’s license as of Thursday.
In the Times Square incident, Rojas was charged with one count of murder in the second degree, aggravated vehicular homicide and multiple counts of attempted murder, a New York police spokesman said in an email late on Thursday.
He was expected to appear in court on Friday at an arraignment hearing.
MORE: Preliminary information suggests Times Square incident not tied to terrorism – U.S. official. https://t.co/F9U96T4tiG pic.twitter.com/PX5Ic0ST9i
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) May 18, 2017
It was not immediately clear whether Rojas had a defense lawyer.
Rojas enlisted in the Navy in 2011. He served as an electrician’s mate fireman apprentice, mostly based in Florida.
While stationed in Jacksonville, Rojas was arrested for battery and resisting an officer without violence, both misdemeanors.
.@FDNY: "13 total patients currently reported at scene of motor vehicle accident in Times Square" https://t.co/MjUKohB4G0 #TimesSquare pic.twitter.com/tW4ShkarOY
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 18, 2017
An arrest report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Rojas yelled at an officer, “My life is over,” and threatened to kill police after his release from jail. He also told the officer that he had beaten a cab driver to whom he owed money and had been drinking at the time of the arrest, according to the report.
Court records indicate the charges may have been dropped.
Navy records show he spent two months in a military prison in Charleston, South Carolina, in the summer of 2013 but do not specify why.
He left the service in May 2014, according to records, which do not offer any additional details.
Times Square heute. (NYC Earthcam.) pic.twitter.com/e4rPNTAlU2
— Nadia Jost (@Nadia_jost2) May 9, 2017
A few hours after the Times Square incident, about 20 police officers and detectives occupied the sidewalk outside the six-story red brick building where Rojas lives.
A woman who used to live in the building, Fati Razak, said she occasionally sees Rojas when she returns to visit her mother.
“We don’t have anything in common except to say ‘hi,'” said Razak, who works as a hairdresser next door. She said Rojas’ family is Dominican and that his mother is a “sweetheart” who sometimes makes food or coffee for the beauty salon’s workers