Richard Rojas, 26, of the Bronx has been charged with murder, after barreling through crowded sidewalks in Times Square on Thursday, killing one person and injuring 22 more. Rojas has a history of drunken driving and tested positive for PCP after the crash. He reportedly told police God made him do it.

The incident began on Thursday after Rojas reportedly made a U-turn, then aimed his Honda Accord directly onto the crowded sidewalk where he hit dozens of pedestrians along a three-block stretch. Alyssa Elsman, 18, of Portage, Michigan was the sole deceased victim from the crash.

She was in New York to visit with her mother and her 13-year-old sister. 22 other pedestrians were injured, some critically, in the incident.

Time Square driver was hoping for ‘death by cop’

CNN reports that Rojas suffers “psychological issues.” He told police he had expected officers to shoot him. While he was reportedly expecting to die in the incident, he is now facing a murder charge for the death of Elsman, along with five counts of aggravated vehicular homicide relating to Elsman’s death and four of the victims who are still in a critical condition.

He has also been hit with 20 counts of attempted murder. According to officials, all injured victims in the Times Square incident are expected to survive.

Alyssa Elsman killed and her sister Ava injured

Among the injured is Elsman’s sister Ava, 13, who was walking with her at the time the car struck. As reported by the New York Daily News, Elsman and her sister were hit while walking on Seventh Avenue, between 42nd and 43rd Streets.

They were planning to return home to Portage on Tuesday.

Alyssa graduated from Portage Central High School in 2016 and was studying in community college outside of Kalamazoo.

Her school principal, Eric Alburtus, said she will be deeply missed by the students and staff, adding that the teenager was “smart, funny and engaging.” The Daily News reviewed Elsman’s social media pages, which revealed that the teen loved New York City.

Record of drunken driving and disorderly conduct

According to NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill, Rojas has a record for drunken driving, with two arrests in New York in 2008 and 2015. Rojas also pleaded guilty to a drunken driving charge while in the Navy in 2013, along with drunk and disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to three months confinement at that time by a military judge.

After the incident happened in Times Square, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement there was no indication that this was an act of terrorism.

Police officials say the case is being investigated as an accident.

Speaking to WNYC Radio, the New York mayor said Rojas has had mental health issues from his childhood and that these issues remained unaddressed, even during his stint in the U.S. military. He went on to say that Rojas' actions may appear to be intentional, in that he was troubled and was lashing out.
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