RICHARD ROJAS

Times Square Crash Trial FILE - Richard Rojas, of the Bronx, N.Y., appears in Manhattan Supreme Court during his arraignment, July 13, 2017, in New York. Rojas, who drove his car through crowds of people in Times Square in 2017, killing a young tourist and maiming helpless pedestrians, was cleared of responsibility Wednesday, June 22, 2022, because of mental illness. The judge has said the finding would qualify Rojas for an open ended “involuntary mental commitment” instead of a lengthy prison term. But Peterson argued Rojas showed he wasn’t entirely detached from reality by maneuvering his vehicle onto the sidewalk and driving with precision for three blocks, mowing down people until he crashed. The evidence, the lawyer said, showed Rojas “lacked a substantial capacity to know what he was doing was wrong” because of an underlying illness — schizophrenia, as diagnosed by a defense psychiatrist who testified.

Times Square Crash Trial FILE - Richard Rojas, right, appears in court for the start of his trial in New York on May 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) (Seth Wenig)NEW YORK — (AP) — A man who drove his car through crowds of people in Times Square in 2017, killing a young tourist and maiming helpless pedestrians, was cleared of responsibility Wednesday because of mental illness. In his closing argument, prosecutor Alfred Peterson conceded that Rojas was having a psychotic episode, including hearing voices, at the time of the rampage. But Peterson argued Rojas showed he wasn’t entirely detached from reality by maneuvering his vehicle onto the sidewalk and driving with precision for three blocks, mowing down people until he crashed. “The defendant made a decision that day,” the prosecutor, Peterson, said.

A man who used his car to hit pedestrians in Times Square has been cleared of responsibility because of mental illness.

A man who drove his car through crowds of people in Times Square in 2017, killing a young tourist and maiming helpless pedestrians, was cleared of responsibility Wednesday because of mental illness. A jury in New York City accepted an insanity defense claiming Richard Rojas was so psychologically disturbed he didn’t know what he was doing. The judge has said the finding would qualify Rojas for an open ended “involuntary mental commitment” instead of a lengthy prison term.

Times Square Crash Trial FILE — Richard Rojas, right, appears in court for the start of his trial in New York, Monday, May 9, 2022. An uncle, Ramon Reyes, said Rojas offered a self-diagnosis: “You know that I’m crazy. A prosecution case that ended late last month focused largely on harrowing accounts of victims who survived the carnage in Times Square. The uncle, Ramon Reyes, recounted a phone call a few days before the Times Square crash in which Rojas asked for help. Reyes told him to come by his home the next day so he could take him to a doctor, but “he never showed up,” he said.

A relative of Richard Rojas has testified at a New York City trial that his nephew declared “I’m crazy” before he allegedly used his car to mow down pedestrians in a fatal attack in Times Square in 2017.

Times Square Crash Trial FILE- A smashed car sits on the corner of Broadway and 45th Street in New York's Times Square, May 18, 2017, after the car was driven into a crowd of pedestrians. Prosecutors are largely relying on the testimony of victims to make a case against Rojas that could put him behind bars for decades. His lawyers are saying he had a mental breakdown that day and had no capacity to understand what he was doing. One of her children was dead and another severely injured — carnage left by a driver who plowed through pedestrians on what had begun, for a Michigan family, as a mundane tourist outing in Times Square in 2017. His lawyers say he had a mental breakdown that day and had no capacity to understand what he was doing.

Times Square Crash Trial FILE- A smashed car sits on the corner of Broadway and 45th Street in New York's Times Square, May 18, 2017, after the car was driven into a crowd of pedestrians. Prosecutors are largely relying on the testimony of victims to make a case against Rojas that could put him behind bars for decades. His lawyers are saying he had a mental breakdown that day and had no capacity to understand what he was doing. One of her children was dead and another severely injured — carnage left behind by a rampaging driver who plowed through pedestrians on what began for a Michigan family as a mundane tourist outing in Times Square in 2017. His lawyers say he had a mental breakdown that day and had no capacity to understand what he was doing.

People testifying in the trial of a man who drove a car that killed one and injured over 20 others in New York's Times Square say the day still haunts them.

Times Square Crash Trial FILE- A smashed car sits on the corner of Broadway and 45th Street in New York's Times Square after several were injured when the car was driven into a crowd of pedestrians on May 18, 2017. Photographers snapped pictures of a wild-eyed Rojas after he climbed from the wrecked car and ran through the street waving his arms. His lawyer said at the time that it was a "terrible thing that happened" in Times Square. Days before the Times Square incident he pleaded guilty to a harassment charge in the Bronx for pulling a knife on a notary in his home and accusing the person of trying to steal his identity. After his arrest, Rojas told the officer he was going to kill all police and military police he might see after his release from jail, the Jacksonville sheriff’s office report stated.

Times Square Crash Trial FILE- A smashed car sits on the corner of Broadway and 45th Street in New York's Times Square after several were injured when the car was driven into a crowd of pedestrians on May 18, 2017. Rojas' trial, in state court in Manhattan, is expected to take several months. Photographers snapped pictures of a wild-eyed Rojas after he climbed from the wrecked car and ran through the street waving his arms. His lawyer said at the time that it was a "terrible thing that happened" in Times Square. Days before the Times Square incident he pleaded guilty to a harassment charge in the Bronx for pulling a knife on a notary in his home and accusing the person of trying to steal his identity.

The man behind the wheel of the car that barreled through crowds of pedestrians in New York City’s Times Square, killing a woman and injuring 22 other people, is finally on trial five years later.