One person was killed and at least 12 others were injured on Thursday when a car hit pedestrians in Manhattan’s bustling Times Square area, police and fire officials said.
Social media images show injured people, a car upended at an angle and crowds gathered in the heart of the tourist hub.
The incident is currently being investigated as an accident, a New York police official said.
New YorkGov. Andrew Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio are on their way to the scene. President Donald Trump, whose home at Trump Tower is one mile from the crash scene, is aware of the incident and will be updated, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer tweeted.
Patsy Sciutto, who works in Times Square, said she was meeting someone for lunch when it was announced over a loudspeaker that the building was on lockdown because of an incident outside.
Officers on the spot told her there was an “unknown speeding car”Sciutto said.
Times Square averaged about 360,000 daily visitors in April, according to a TV channel by the Times Square Alliance, making it one of the most visited locations in the world.
Update:
The injured count has risen to 19.
The driver is in custody.
A driver with a history of drunken driving arrests plowed through crowds of pedestrians on packed sidewalks along three Times Square blocks Thursday, killing one person and injuring 22 others, officials said.
The driver, Richard Rojas, 26, was taken into custody after a traffic agent tackled him as he fled from his car, a maroon Honda that came to a stop after ramming into stanchions at the corner of 45th Street and Broadway.
“Based on information we have at this moment, there is no indication that this was an act of terrorism,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters at a news conference in Times Square. “We all feel deeply right now for those who were injured and for their families.”
(Developing story updated at 04:35am IST)
