Richard Rojas
Richard Rojas
Rojas in custody
Richard Rojas is an American resident of Bronx, New York.
Personal Life
He is an ex-military veteran with a history of drunk driving arrests.
Arrest
Rojas with his hands in the air
On May 18, 2017, Rojas killed Alyssa Elsman and injured 19 others when he struck pedestrians in Manhattan's Times Square.
He had been smoking Synthetic marijuana before the incident occurred. He drove down 7th Avenue when he made a U-turn onto the west sidewalk.
The car then drove up the sidewalk for three and a half blocks, striking the 23 victims before crashing into a stanchion near the corner of 45th Street and Broadway.
Rojas attempted to flee police after the crash, before being grabbed and bundled into a cop car by several officers of the New York Police Department.
He also got into a fistfight with an officer as they attempted to arrest him.
Synthetic marijuana
Aftermath
A blood test was conducted for Richard's levels of toxicity.
The results found that he has tested positive for the synthetic marijuana drug, K2.
Previous Arrests
Rojas has two DWIs to his name from earlier arrests. In one of those two incidents he drove at 99mph in a 50mph zone. He has also had his license suspended multiple times.