One woman is dead and 22 others are injured after a car ploughed through a crowd of pedestrians in New York City’s Times Square, just after midday local time.
The sedan was driven onto the footpath at the intersection of Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street, before travelling north for three blocks.
Annie Donahay, a witness at the scene, said she could hear “the sounds of bodies being hit, then came the screams.
“People were jumping out of the way, but he just kept going.“Then there was silence for what seemed to be a really long time, then the screaming returned.“There were bodies covered in blood.”
The vehicle only stopped after colliding with a pole, at which point it caught fire.
Driver plows into pedestrians in #timessquare thank God for #NYC finest #FDNY pic.twitter.com/ZXPdXj8UMR
— Marc Palladino (@marc_palladino) May 18, 2017
The vehicle’s driver, identified by police authorities as 26-year-old Navy veteran Richard Rojas, attempted to run from the scene but was tackled by onlookers.
Rojas was taken into police custody shortly after, where he has undergone police and drug testing. It’s been reported Rojas has previously been arrested twice for drink driving.
18-year-old Alyssa Elsman has been identified as the incident’s one fatality. Her 13-year-old sister was also injured, and has received treatment in hospital.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said there’s no indication the incident was terror-related. A bomb squad was also called to inspect the vehicle, and the popular tourist destination remains under heavy police guard.
