At roughly noon on Thursday, a car ran into a crowded corner of New York City’s Times Square killing one person and leaving 19 injured. After a quick investigation of the incident, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, said there was no reason to label the incident as a terroristic attack.
According to Reuters, the driver was a former U.S. sailor, Richard Rojas, and has already been arrested twice for drunk driving. The victim killed was an 18-year-old female visiting times square just like the thousands of other tourists that day.
Thanks to several bystanders, photos of the incident emerged revealing the Maroon Honda Accord flipped on its side with the front all torn up. Emergency operators quickly arrived and treated those injured while the NYPD took the driver into custody. NYPD was assisted by a Planet Hollywood bouncer after Rojas attempted to flee.
The crashed fueled fear of terrorism as everyone was reminded of the recent attacks in London and Nice that used trucks to kill. Thankfully, New York City has already renovated parts of Times Square to add more safety but after this event, it would be assumed that more safety methods will be put in place. The NYPD completely ruled out terrorism and stated the driver was under the influence of drugs.
