The man who rushed on a pavement on Times Square in New York yesterday, crashing several pedestrians, did that because he heard “voices” and was afraid to die.
That says an official present at the first hearing of the perpetrator, 26-year-old Richard Rojas. In the accident, one died, and 22 people were injured.
After his deed, he flew screaming away at his car. A little later he was arrested by bystanders and police officers in the chaos.
The man who hit him with a kind of football tackle is Ken Bradix, a security officer of a nearby Planet Hollywood restaurant. He tells how Rojas behaved after his deed: “He began to shout, no words, but a huge scream, and then he only waved his arms.”
Rojas lived in the Bronx. He was fired from the American Navy for disciplinary reasons in 2014.
According to police, Rojas was probably picked up twice because he was on the steering wheel with alcohol: once in 2008 and once in 2015. But this time he had no traces of alcohol in his blood.
Whether he was under the influence of drugs or drugs should test further tests. According to Mayor Bill de Blasio, there were no indications that it was a terrorist attack.
Rojas was arrested last week because he had threatened a notary with a knife suspected of stolen his identity. Previous arrests revealed he suspected he was chased.