The U.S. Navy veteran charged with killing a young women and injuring 20 others by speeding down a crowded Times Square sidewalk in his car said in published remarks on Saturday that he had sought psychiatric care beforehand, to no avail.
"I was trying to get help," Richard Rojas, 26, was quoted as telling the New York Post in a tearful jailhouse interview two days after the carnage in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. "I wanted to fix my life. I wanted to get a job. Get a girlfriend."
According to the Post, Rojas said he had recently spoken to a mental health counselor at a local veterans centre who promised to call him on Monday. "Monday hasn't come yet," he added.
On Thursday Rojas climbed behind the wheel of his Honda sedan and drove down Seventh Avenue, then careened onto the sidewalk, mowing down frantic pedestrians in his path for three city blocks before crashing. He was subdued by onlookers and police as he tried to flee on foot.
He has been charged with second-degree murder, vehicular homicide and multiple counts of attempted murder.
Rojas said he had no recollection of the Times Square incident, but recounted having a sandwich to eat with his mother Thursday morning before deciding to take a drive.
"I wanted to clear my head," he told the newspaper. "The last thing I remember is driving in my car. Then, I woke up in the (police) precinct. ... I was terrified."
A police source has told Reuters that Rojas is believed to have been under the influence of some intoxicating substance, and ABC News has cited law enforcement sources as saying he apparently was high on synthetic marijuana.
"I guess it was laced with something," Rojas told the Post.
Navy and public court records show Rojas has had numerous run-ins with the law over the past decade, with at least four prior arrests, two for drunken driving, and one just last week for allegedly threatening another man with a knife outside his apartment in New York City's Bronx borough.
While serving in the Navy in 2013, he spent two months in a military brig in South Carolina, though records do not indicate why.
One friend who spoke with Reuters shortly after Thursday's incident in Times Square described Rojas as someone who returned from his Navy service with a drinking problem and other personal difficulties but got no help.
Reuters
Sun May 21 2017
Richard Rojas is escorted from the 7th precinct by New York City Police officers after being processed in connection with the speeding vehicle that struck pedestrians on a sidewalk in Times Square in New York City, U.S., May 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stephan
Bursa Malaysia ditutup tinggi susulan sentimen positif pasaran serantau
Pada 5 petang, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) meningkat 5.91 mata kepada 1,575.16 daripada paras penutup 1,569.25 pada Khamis.
Pasukan sorak Malaysia raih tempat ketiga di Florida
Pasukan sorak Team Malaysia Youth All Girls meraih tempat ketiga divisyen Youth All-Girl Median di International Cheer Union World Junior Cheerleading Championship.
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Sekumpulan pakar PBB gesa laluan selamat bagi misi penghantaran bantuan
Sekumpulan pakar dari Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) menggesa agar laluan selamat bagi misi Break The Siege Freedom Flotilla to Gaza pada Jumaat.
Sabah FC berdepan tunggakan sebulan gaji pemain - Pengarah
Sabah FC kini hanya berdepan tunggakan gaji pemain untuk satu bulan setelah usaha dilakukan secara tuntas untuk menyelesaikan masalah pembayaran tunggakan sejak tahun lepas.
Tumpuan Jumaat - 26 April 2024
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan di Astro AWANI.
MYAirline akan terus kekalkan barisan pemegang jawatan, dapatkan pelbagai pelabur
MYAirline Sdn Bhd akan terus mengekalkan barisan pemegang jawatan yang dilantik dan pengurusan utama selain memastikan dokumentasi Sijil Perakuan Pengendali Udaranya (AOC) kekal dalam keadaan terkini.
China sokong Malaysia untuk dapatkan pembangunan yang sesuai dan mainkan peranan dalam arena antarabangsa
China akan memberikan sokongan kepada Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim untuk mempromosikan prinsip Malaysia MADANI dalam tadbir urus.
Perasuah semakin licik, perlu sokongan semua pihak terutama media - Azam Baki
Rasuah merupakan jenayah yang unik sifatnya pada masa kini dan Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) memerlukan sokongan daripada semua pihak khususnya media untuk membanterasnya.
KJ tak terfikir untuk kembali ke FAM
Khairy berkata terdapat calon-calon lain yang lebih layak untuk menerajui badan induk itu berbanding beliau.
Dakwa kerajaan ambil tindakan terhadap kritikan, Syed Saddiq diminta tidak hipokrit - Fahmi
Fahmi berkata kerajaan tidak menghalang rakyat untuk mengkritik, khususnya melibatkan dasar yang dilaksanakan kerajaan.
Lelaki rempuh pejalan kaki di Times Square akui pernah cuba dapatkan bantuan
Rekod menunjukkan Rojas mempunyai banyak rekod jenayah, dan pernah empat kali ditahan.