A man who appeared intoxicated drove his car the wrong way up a Times Square street and plowed into pedestrians on the sidewalk Thursday, killing a teenager and injuring 20 other people.
The driver, a 26-year-old Navy veteran named Richard Rojas, was taken into custody and was undergoing tests for alcohol and drugs. Rojas had been arrested at least twice previously for driving while intoxicated, once in 2008 and once in 2015, police said. Photographers snapped pictures of Rojas after he climbed from the wrecked car and ran through the street before he was tackled by a group that included a ticket seller and a muscular door supervisor at a nearby Planet Hollywood restaurant.
Police do not suspect a link to terrorism, but the vehicle was checked by the bomb squad and certain city landmarks were getting a beefed up police presence.
Richard Rojas told officers he was hearing voices and expected to die, two law enforcement officials said.
The White House said President Trump was informed of the situation in Times Square and would continue to be briefed as it unfolded.
Photo: The consequences after a car plunged into pedestrians in Times Square in New York on May 18, 2017.
Photo: Injured on the site of a car accident in Times Square, New York, May 18, 2017.
Photo: Police on the site after a car drove on to a pavement in New York City's Times Square.