Times Square Driver Says He Tried To Get Mental Help
NEW YORK (CBSDetroit/AP) - A man accused of mowing down a crowd of pedestrians in Times Square, killing a teenage Michigan tourist and injuring 22 others, says he was trying to get psychiatric help before he went for that fateful drive.
Alyssa Elsman, 18, from Portage, Michigan was killed and her 13-year-old sister was among the pedestrians struck and injured.
In a jailhouse interview Saturday, Richard Rojas told the New York Post he recently spoke to a mental health counselor at a local veteran's center but they never got back to him.
The 26-year-old Rojas says the last thing he remembers Thursday is driving his car. He says he then woke up in the precinct "terrified." Rojas also apologized to the victims' families and to his mom.
Michigan Teen Killed In Times Square By Rogue Driver
At a court appearance on Friday, prosecutors say Rojas admitted to smoking marijuana laced with PCP sometime before the incident. Officials are awaiting toxicology reports.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
