Times Square Rampage Driver Blames Victims, City: Report

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The man facing murder charges for driving his car into a crowd of pedestrians in Times Square, killing one and injuring 22, is claiming that he's not liable to pay for the medical costs of his victims, according to a report.

Richard Rojas's defense in a civil suit filed against him by survivors of the May 2017 rampage and the family of slain tourist Alyssa Elsman is to blame the victims, the New York Post first reported. Rojas claims that he's not liable to pay for the victims' medical care because the injuries "were contributed in whole or in part by [their] culpable conduct," the Post reported.

The accused murderer is also counter-suing the city — which is named as a co-defendant in the suit against him — for its negligence leading up to the rampage, the Post reported. A city spokesman told the Post that the city has begun installing traffic bollards around Times Square to make the area safer for pedestrians and expects to be finished by the end of the year.

On May 18, Rojas drove his Honda accord down the sidewalk on Seventh Avenue from West 42nd to 45th Street streets, prosecutors said. Rojas, a resident of the Bronx, came to a stop after crashing into a metal bollard and was chased down by civilians and NYPD officers.

While Rojas was being arrested he shouted, "I wanted to kill them," according to a criminal complaint from the Manhattan District Attorney's office. After Rojas was arrested he told a police officer, "I smoked marijuana. I laced the marijuana with PCP," according to the complaint.

Alyssa Elsman, an 18-year-old woman visiting New York City, was killed during the rampage and her 13-year-old sister Ava was also injured, prosecutors said. The Elsman siblings, who were in the city with their mother and friends, were due to return to Michigan the day of the accident.

Rojas is facing two counts of second-degree murder, 18 counts of second-degree attempted murder, 20 counts of first-degree assault and 18 counts of second-degree assault in the criminal case against him, prosecutors said.

Read the full New York Post report here.

Photo by Jefferson Siegel/Associated Press