Story highlights "It was so fast," the photographer said of the incident

Photos show fear in onlookers' faces

(CNN) Charles Guerin was making his daily trip through Times Square on Thursday just before noon when he saw and heard a car speeding on the sidewalk and people screaming.

Guerin, generally an entertainment and celebrity photographer, grabbed the camera out of his backpack and ran toward the car, snapping photos all the while.

He assumed that the driver was still inside the vehicle, which was resting at an upended angle, smoke billowing from its hood.

It wasn't until almost 20 minutes later, when Guerin looked at his photos on his computer, that he realized the suspect had been running toward him that whole time.

Photographer Charles Guerin didn't realize until later that he had snapped an image of the suspect, Richard Rojas.

"Because I was shooting, I didn't see him," Guerin told CNN. "It was so fast."

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