
Alyssa Elsman (pictured) was identified as the 18-year-old who was run down and killed in a horrific Times Square collision that also injured 22 other people - including her 13-year-old sister, with whom she'd been walking

A teenager posted a video of Times Square just minutes before she was mowed down at the tourist attraction by an ex-military man who was high on synthetic marijuana.

The NYPD has confirmed that an 18-year-old girl identified as Alyssa Elsman was the only fatality in the horrific Times Square collision that saw 22 people injured including the girl's 13-year-old sister.

The victim from Portage, Michigan, was walking through the heart of Midtown Manhattan with her sister when the incident occurred.

Moments before, she had uploaded a clip to social media showing the bustling New York attraction.

A driver believed to be Richard Rojas, 26, of the Bronx, mounted the curb and ploughed through crowds at high speed for three and a half blocks before crashing.

According to sources, he told cops that he wanted to kill his victims, and that police should have shot him.

Rojas, a US military veteran who has a criminal history including two DUIs, had reportedly been smoking K2, the infamous synthetic marijuana, prior to the crash. It has been linked to psychotic episodes.

Of the 22 people hurt, the NYPD said that four people had been critically injured with open fractures and multiple traumas and three others were seriously injured - all were hospitalized. Some 15 more were not seriously injured, and were not hospitalized.

The status of Elsman's 13-year-old sister has not yet been released.

Elsman was killed on Thursday when a driver raced up a sidewalk, mowing down crowds. As news of Elsman's death spread, mourners began to leave messages of condolence on her Instagram page. Her sister's status has not been announced

Elsman's final post on Instagram was a short video of Times Square, posted shortly before her death. The Michigan girl had travelled to New York with her sister, mother and a friend

Elsman's body (pictured) was seen on the sidewalk after the incident Thursday. Her killer had mounted the sidewalk on Seventh Avenue and drove for three and a half blocks through the busy crowds

Richard Rojas (pictured left), 26, of the Bronx, was identified by police as the driver behind the crash. He's a former member of the military with two DWIs under his name. Sources say he 'wanted to kill' his victims and told cops they should shoot him

Four people were critically injured and three seriously hurt. All were hospitalised. The remaining 15 people were not taken to hospital. The condition of the dead girl's sister is currently unknown

Rojas was seen jumping in the street (left) after the crash. Sources say he had been smoking synthetic marijuana, which can cause psychotic episodes. He was said to be 'visually impaired' when he was arrested, and reported negative for alcohol

Elsman's body was left underneath a bloodstained sheet while police investigated the scene of the tragic incident

Her body was then removed from the scene by the NYC Medical Examiner's office

Rojas had reportedly made a U-turn on Seventh Avenue and drove for three and a half blocks in the wrong direction, striking the victims, before crashing into a stanchion at the corner of 45th St and Broadway

Elsman had posted a short video of Times Square to her Instagram account just before she died. She was in the city with her mother, sister and a friend at the time, the New York Post reported.

Her boyfriend of six months, Trevor West, told the paper: 'She would always text me back as quick as she could and when I didn't hear from her or her friend I knew something horrible happened. I knew something was wrong.'

'She motivated me, loved me, gave me everything I needed that I couldn't give myself,' he said. 'And now that she's gone I don't know how I'm going to fill that void. I don't know how I'm going to function without her ever again.'

In a joint press conference, with Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said that the car had been driving down 7th Avenue when it made a U-turn onto the west sidewalk.

The car then drove up the sidewalk for three and a half blocks, striking the 23 victims before crashing into a stanchion near the corner of 45th Street and Broadway, Nigro said.

Rojas has now been taken to a testing facility where he will be screened for drug use. Sources told ABC 7 that he had been using synthetic marijuana, which has been linked to psychotic episodes, prior to the crash.

He was seen leaping up and down in the middle of the road after smashing his car into a series of stanchions - which occurred after he drove at speeds of up to 80mph, according to witneses.

And when he was being arrested, Rojas reportedly told police he'd wanted to kill his victims, and that he'd expected to be gunned down.

'You were supposed to shoot me! I wanted to kill them!' said, according to a New York Post source.

NBC reported that after he was arrested, Rojas admitted to cops that he had been smoking marijuana prior to the crash. That has not yet been confirmed by authorities. It was also reported that he blew a 0.0 on an alcohol test.

First responders and members of the public tend to the victims. The slain young woman can be seen center. The other victims, including those that were critically and seriously injured, are all expected to survive

Victims sprawled on the sidewalk were being tended to by first responders and other pedestrians

Pedestrian's shoes were scattered at the scene as authorities treated the injured bystanders

Fire crews were seen treating a bloodied woman lying on the ground in Times Square

Nigro said that the driver attempted to flee the car after the crash, but was tackled by a traffic agent, along with officers members of the public.

One of those members of the public was Alpha Balde, 57, a ticket agent for CitySightseeing. He said that he and a Planet Hollywood bouncer had spotted Rojas fleeing the scene of the crash and ran to intercept him.

'The bouncer from Planet Hollywood knocked him out,' he told the NY Daily News. 'He knocked him out so bad you could see the blood coming out of his face.

'That's when I jumped in, I grabbed him from his neck and within about one minute everybody's there.'

Balde added that he ripped off the suspect's shirt. 'We watch TV all the time,' he said. 'You have to make sure this guy doesn't have anything under his shirt that's going to damage you.

'So I ripped the shirt to find out no gun, no knife, no belt.'

'He's just mowing down people,' said Asa Lowe, of Brooklyn, who was standing outside a store when he heard screaming. 'He didn't stop. He just kept going.'

After the car struck a barricade and stopped, the driver climbed out of his vehicle, Lowe said. 'He just started running until people tackled him down. Citizens just reacted.'

It was also reported that the suspect got into a fistfight with one of the officers as they attempted to arrest him. That officer was not badly hurt.

Rojas has a criminal history and two DWIs to his name, Nigro said. In 2008 he was arrested for drunk-driving in Queens, and in 2015 he was arrested again for drink-driving in Manhattan.

In May of this year Rojas was arrested for 'menacing', he said. No other details about his history with the police, or that incident, were made available.

In one of those two incidents he drove at 99mph in a 50mph zone, ABC reported. He has also had his license suspended multiple times.

Rojas was also a member of the US armed forces, although details about that have yet to emerge.

The driver was dramatically taken into custody on Thursday. Rojas was apprehended by both police officers and civilians - the latter including ticket seller Alpha Balde (far left) and a Planet Hollywood bouncer (behind Rojas, in cap)

Police said Rojas got into a fistfight with an officer as they struggled to arrest him, before he was eventually tackled to the ground and bundled into a squad car

Rojas had seemed happy and untroubled on Tuesday night, a friend told the New York Post. He had been celebrating getting his car back.

'He just got his car back, a Honda,' Jose Medrano, 27,' said. 'He was happy about it. He said they had taken his car for lack of payment. He just gotten it back and was happy.'

'He was drinking last night out here, with his friends,' Medrano added. 'He looked in good spirits.'

A photograph taken by one witness showed the maroon sedan involved in the collition, wreathed in smoke, propped up on the stanchions it had crashed into.

Witnesses said the motorist had driven up Seventh Avenue in the wrong direction, first against traffic and then mounting the sidewalk, hitting pedestrians.

Police are reviewing footage of the incident.

A 911 call obtained by NBC reveals the drama of the situation as the accident occurred.

'Times Square, we got a car running people over on 42-7, going northbound on 7th ave, running people over,' one NYPD dispatcher can be heard saying. 'Multiple people injured. Notify everyone.'

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio both visited Times Square to assess the scene.

Cuomo released a statement in which he said: 'Today's events at times square were nothing short of horrific.'

He added: 'As the facts continue to emerge, my heart goes out to the victims of this terrible tragedy, as well as their families.'

An injured man was being treated on the ground after the collision at the Midtown Manhattan tourist site

Emergency services and bystanders help an injured pedestrian after a vehicle mounted the sidewalk in Times Square

Distraught pedestrians were spotted helping their injured friend on the sidewalk

A number of injured people were being placed on stretchers to be treated

This car mounted a curb and struck 14 people, killing one and seriously injuring another. It appeared to have caught fire after the crash

Video courtesy Kevin Tobin

Traffic all around Times Square is snarled up after the incident. Police are continuing to increase the size of the closed area to keep crowds away from the scene.

According to the NYPD, as of 3:30pm, roads are closed between 42 St and 49 St, from Sixth Ave to Eighth Ave, with no crosstown traffic and no southbound traffic from Seventh Ave and Broadway from 48 St.

Access to the FDR is closed southbound on 42 St and northbound on 23 St.

Times Square metro station's exits are closed at 42, 43 and 46 Streets.

The area, which is heavily trafficked by tourists and is 11 blocks away from the heavily guarded Trump Tower, already had a high police presence.

Times Square is one of the busiest areas for pedestrians in the entire country. On average 330,000 people walk through it every day - with as many as 460,000 on heavy days.

Witnesses said the motorist had driven a red Honda sedan against traffic and onto the sidewalk before crashing into a pole

Witnesses said everyone just started running when the car rammed into a pole and came to rest at 45th Street and Broadway

Emergency workers treat a victim after multiple people were injured when a vehicle struck the innocent bystanders

A number of injured pedestrians were seen lying in the middle of the road as witnesses helped treat them

Witnesses said the motorist had driven against traffic and onto the sidewalk, striking pedestrians