2017 Times Square car attack
2017 Times Square car attack | |
---|---|
EDT | |
Target | Pedestrians |
Attack type | Vehicle-ramming attack, attempted mass murder |
Weapons | Honda Accord (North America eighth generation) |
Deaths | 1 (Alyssa Elsman) |
Injured | 20[1] |
Accused | Richard Rojas |
On May 18, 2017, a car was crashed in
After being detained, Rojas was found to have ingested phencyclidine before the crash. When interviewed by the NYPD, Rojas said he wanted to die in a "suicide by cop", and that he had been hearing voices. In a jailhouse news interview three days later, he said he did not remember the incident or any statements he made afterward.
A year later, multiple liability lawsuits were filed between Rojas, victims, and the city.
Incident
Richard Rojas, the driver of a maroon
Victims
Alyssa Elsman, an 18-year-old tourist from Portage, Michigan, was killed and 20 people were injured, four critically.[4][6][7]
Suspect
Richard Rojas (born 1991), a 26-year-old resident of
Rojas was arrested in September 2012 after assaulting a cab driver and yelling at an officer, "My life is over", and threatening to kill police officers after his release. He also spent two months in
Rojas was obsessed with Scientology and had accumulated literature on the religion. He recently got back his car after it was repossessed a short time before the incident.[16] A week before the incident, he was arrested and charged with pointing a knife at a notary, whom he accused of stealing his identity.[10]
Investigators looked into his psychological history.[1] In an interview for the New York Post on May 21, he said he had no recollection of the incident or any statements he made when arrested and sought help in the prior week, including speaking to a mental health counselor at a veteran's affairs center, who promised to call him on Monday (May 22).[17]
Aftermath
According to a criminal complaint, Rojas admitted
Legal proceedings
Rojas was later charged with second-degree murder, 20 counts of attempted murder, and five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide.[21] On July 13, Rojas, through his lawyer, Enrico DeMarco, pleaded not guilty to two counts of second-degree murder, 18 attempted murders and 38 assaults.[22]
On October 24, DeMarco declined to reveal whether he would attempt an insanity defense, saying he needed "another month or so" to examine Rojas' possessions, such as notebooks, which the district attorney possesses. Justice Melissa Jackson urged him to hurry before adjourning until December 18.[23] On December 17, he filed notice of his intent to pursue an insanity defense. Rojas was examined by psychiatrists hired by both sides.[24] Jury selection began on April 18, 2022, five years after the attack. If Rojas was convicted of all charges, he would have faced a life sentence.[25]
Defense psychiatrist Dr. Ziv Cohen from Weill Cornell Medicine at Columbia University testified that Rojas had schizophrenia, and had begun hearing voices while in the navy. Cohen testified that "At a certain point, the psychosis becomes so severe that he can't control his behavior anymore."[26] It was one of these voices that told Rojas on the day of the attack to crash his car.[26][27][28] On June 22, the jury found Rojas not responsible because of insanity.[29]
Civil action
In June 2017, attorney Greg Sobo of Sobo & Sobo L.L.P. was hired to represent Alyssa and her father Thomas Elsman, as well as several other relatives and survivors of the incident in a case against Rojas.[30][31] In July 2018, Sobo filed a second claim against New York City for unspecified damages, alleging that the city failed to provide adequate protection from civilian attacks.[32] The claimants include Thomas Elsman, as well as victims Gayatari Jariwala, William McCollough, Destiny Lightfoot, and Caroline Jacobs.[33] The next month, victims Jessica Williams and William Nelson Sr. filed a similar joint suit for $75 million.[34]
Rojas was also named as a defendant against the city.[35] He countersued the plaintiffs, blaming their injuries on their own culpable conduct, and holding their respective insurance companies solely responsible for paying their expenses. He agreed with their claim that the city was recklessly negligent, and sued it accordingly.[36]
See also
References
- ^ a b Sanchez, Ray; Kaufman, Ellie; Park, Madison (May 19, 2017). "Driver charged with murder in Times Square crash". CNN. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Sanchez, Ray (May 18, 2017). "Times Square car incident: 1 dead, 22 injured; driver in custody". CNN. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Rosenberg, Eli; Rashbaum, William K. (May 18, 2017). "One Dead and 22 Injured as Car Rams Into Pedestrians in Times Square". The New York Times. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ a b Trotta, Daniel; Allen, Jonathan (May 18, 2017). "Car slams into Times Square pedestrians, killing one, injuring 22". Reuters. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Shapiro, Emily (May 19, 2017). "Times Square crash suspect told police 'I wanted to kill them': Prosecutors". ABC News. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
- ^ Demick, Barbara; Zavis, Alexandra; Haller, Vera (May 18, 2017). "One killed and 22 injured when a car plows into pedestrians in New York's Times Square". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ "Canadian woman, 38, critically injured in New York\u2019s Times Square crash". CTV News. May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
- ^ Winter, Tom; Dienst, Jonathan; Ortiz, Erik (May 18, 2017). "Car Rams Into Pedestrians in NYC's Times Square, Killing at Least 1". NBC News. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Bacon, John; Diebel, Matthew (May 18, 2017). "Car slams into crowd in New York's Times Square; 1 dead, 22 hurt". USA Today. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ a b c Long, Colleen; Hays, Tom (May 18, 2017). "Officials: Driver Who Crashed Into Pedestrians in Times Square Thought He Was Hearing Voices". Time. Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 18, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Donovan, Brittney (May 18, 2017). "Former Naval Station Mayport sailor arrested in fatal Time Square crash". CBS News. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Spicer, Jonathan (May 18, 2017). "Accused Times Square driver's troubled past included Navy prison". Reuters. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Gardener, Aiden; Kapp, Trevor (May 18, 2017). "Deadly Times Square Crash: Who Is Richard Rojas?". DNAinfo.com. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ "Deadly Times Square Crash Driver Pulled Knife on Man 7 Days Earlier: NYPD". CBS New York. May 18, 2017. Archived from the original on June 10, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ "Before Driver's Times Square Crash, a Descent Into Paranoia and Harassment". New York Times. May 18, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Tracy, Thomas; McDonnell, Mary; Parascandola, Rocco; Shapiro, Rich. "Times Square car crash kills 1, injures 22; Navy veteran cuffed". New York Daily News.
- ^ Pagones, Stephanie (May 21, 2017). "'I was trying to get help,' Times Square driver says in jailhouse interview". New York Post.
- ^ "Sources: Times Square driver was apparently high on synthetic marijuana (K2) at time of pedestrian crash". ABC News. May 18, 2017.
- ^ "'I Wanted To Kill Them': Authorities Detail Case Against Times Square Crash Suspect Richard Rojas". CBS News. May 18, 2017.
- ^ a b Brennan, Christopher; Crane-Newman, Molly; Parascandola, Rocco; Tracy, Thomas; Shapiro, Rich (May 19, 2017). "Times Square car crash kills 1, injures 22; Navy veteran cuffed". New York Daily News.
- ^ "Times Square driver 'heard voices'". May 19, 2017 – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ Rosenberg, Rebecca (July 13, 2017). "Driver pleads not guilty in deadly Times Square rampage". New York Post.
- ^ Jacobs, Shayna. "Driver who mowed down 21 people on Times Square sidewalk may use psychiatric defense". nydailynews.com.
- ^ Saul, Emily (December 18, 2017). "Accused killer in Times Square crash plans insanity defense".
- ^ Dominianni, Andy (April 19, 2022). "Man charged with hitting and killing a Portage teen finally heads to trial". WWMT. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
- ^ a b "Jury Finds Driver in Deadly 2017 Times Square Rampage Not Responsible". NBC New York. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
- ^ "Navy vet who crashed car into Times Square pedestrians in 2017 'not responsible' due to mental illness, jury finds". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
- ^ "Testimony at Times Square trial: Attacker was hearing voices". AP NEWS. June 8, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
- ^ Hays, Tom (June 22, 2022). "Man found not responsible for Times Square vehicle rampage". Associated Press. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
- ^ "Families of Times Square crash victims seeking justice". Fox 5 New York. June 28, 2017. Retrieved June 28, 2017.
- ^ "Sobo & Sobo Helps Times Square Attack Victims". Hudson Valley Press. July 26, 2017.
- ^ Ottaway, Amanda (August 1, 2018). "NYC Faces Negligence Claim Over Times Square Carnage". Courthouse News Service.
- ^ Sobo, Greg (July 31, 2018). "FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 07/31/2018 10:03 AM" (PDF). Courthouse News Service. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
- ^ Marsh, Julia (August 14, 2018). "2 more victims of Times Square driver's rampage file lawsuits".
- ^ Saul, Emily (July 31, 2018). "Family of teen killed by crazed Times Square driver are suing city".
- ^ "Accused Times Square Car Killer Blames Crash On Victims". Oxygen Official Site. August 14, 2018.