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A teenager has been killed after a former US naval officer allegedly ploughed his car into pedestrians on a pavement in New York City's Times Square.

A further 22 people are thought to have been injured in the incident, which happened at the Midtown Manhattan tourist site on Thursday lunchtime.

One injured pedestrian said the collision appeared to be "intentional" and the New York Police Department has closed off the area.

But police said they do not believe the crash was connected to terrorism and tweeted that it was an "isolated incident".

A 26-year-old man, named by police as Richard Rojas from the Bronx district, was detained by police at the scene.

He has previous convictions for driving under the influence and is being tested for alcohol and drug levels in custody.

He was arrested twice - in 2008 and 2015 - for drink-driving offences.

Police said the driver did a U-turn and then mounted the pavement between 6th to 8th avenue.

Witnesses described how the motorist then proceeded to drive alone the pavement at a speed.

"People were being hit and rolling off the car," said Josh Duboff, an employee at the adjacent Thomson Reuters headquarters who jumped out of the way to avoid being struck.

Another pedestrian wrote on Twitter: “A car just purposely sped onto the sidewalk in Times Square trying to hit people. It was speeding up and aiming for people.

New York: Times Square Car Crash 19 show all New York: Times Square Car Crash 1/19 A car speeds through a sidewalk in Times Square @gb__ 2/19 Police detaining a man at the scene 3/19 An injured man on the sidewalk in Times Square after a speeding vehicle struck pedestrians on the sidewalk Mike Segar/Reuters 4/19 Emergency workers at the scene of the car crash Rex Features 5/19 An aerial view of the car crash in Times Square 6/19 Mayor with @NYPDONeill and @FDNY in Times Square being briefed on the incident @NYCMayorsOffice 7/19 Emergency workers treat multiple people injured when a vehicle struck numerous pedestrians in Times Square in New York Gary He/EPA 8/19 The mangled car which ploughed into pedestrians in Times Square Seth Weni/AP 9/19 An aerial view of the car crash in Times Square Sky News 10/19 First responders assisting injured pedestrians after a vehicle struck pedestrians on a sidewalk in Times Square Jeremy Schultz/Reuters 11/19 First responders tend to an injured pedestrian after a vehicle struck pedestrians on a sidewalk in Times Square Lucas Jackson/Reuters 12/19 Emergency workers work at the scene after multiple people were injured when a vehicle struck numerous pedestrians EPA 13/19 First responders assisting injured pedestrians after a vehicle struck pedestrians on a sidewalk in Times Square Jeremy Schultz/Reuters 14/19 An image of the car which ploughed into pedestrians, killing at least one @pinkcamry 15/19 First responders tend to injured pedestrians after a vehicle struck pedestrians on a sidewalk in Times Square Lucas Jackson/Reuters 16/19 An aerial view of the the incident in Times Square, New York, USA where a car mounted the pavement injuring pedestrians PA 17/19 A vehicle sits atop a bollard after multiple people were injured when a vehicle struck numerous pedestrians in Times Square in New York EPA 18/19 An injured man sits on the sidewalk in Times Square after a speeding vehicle struck pedestrians on the sidewalk in New York Mike Segar/Reuters 19/19 First responders are at the scene where a vehicle driving onto a sidewalk in Times Square in New York Daniel J. Bases/Reuters 1/19 A car speeds through a sidewalk in Times Square @gb__ 2/19 Police detaining a man at the scene 3/19 An injured man on the sidewalk in Times Square after a speeding vehicle struck pedestrians on the sidewalk Mike Segar/Reuters 4/19 Emergency workers at the scene of the car crash Rex Features 5/19 An aerial view of the car crash in Times Square 6/19 Mayor with @NYPDONeill and @FDNY in Times Square being briefed on the incident @NYCMayorsOffice 7/19 Emergency workers treat multiple people injured when a vehicle struck numerous pedestrians in Times Square in New York Gary He/EPA 8/19 The mangled car which ploughed into pedestrians in Times Square Seth Weni/AP 9/19 An aerial view of the car crash in Times Square Sky News 10/19 First responders assisting injured pedestrians after a vehicle struck pedestrians on a sidewalk in Times Square Jeremy Schultz/Reuters 11/19 First responders tend to an injured pedestrian after a vehicle struck pedestrians on a sidewalk in Times Square Lucas Jackson/Reuters 12/19 Emergency workers work at the scene after multiple people were injured when a vehicle struck numerous pedestrians EPA 13/19 First responders assisting injured pedestrians after a vehicle struck pedestrians on a sidewalk in Times Square Jeremy Schultz/Reuters 14/19 An image of the car which ploughed into pedestrians, killing at least one @pinkcamry 15/19 First responders tend to injured pedestrians after a vehicle struck pedestrians on a sidewalk in Times Square Lucas Jackson/Reuters 16/19 An aerial view of the the incident in Times Square, New York, USA where a car mounted the pavement injuring pedestrians PA 17/19 A vehicle sits atop a bollard after multiple people were injured when a vehicle struck numerous pedestrians in Times Square in New York EPA 18/19 An injured man sits on the sidewalk in Times Square after a speeding vehicle struck pedestrians on the sidewalk in New York Mike Segar/Reuters 19/19 First responders are at the scene where a vehicle driving onto a sidewalk in Times Square in New York Daniel J. Bases/Reuters

“I just decided to cross the street 30 sec before or I'd be dead. If I would have waited to cross the street I'd probably be dead right now.

“This didn't look like an accident. The driver was steering into people."

"Everybody was just running, everyone was concerned for their lives," another witness told CBS television.

One woman - an 18-year-old named locally as Alyssa Elsman from Michigan - was pronounced dead at the scene. She was with her 13-year-old sister who was also injured.

Video footage posted shows police officers detaining a man as emergency services swarm the area.

And images shared by eyewitnesses show a smoking red Honda mounted up on the pavement at the busy junction.

A witness has reported seeing shoes scattered across the road and one victim covered in a bloodstained blanket.

And several others were being led away on stretchers.

The car crashed into a pole and came to a rest at 45th Street and Broadway.

In a press conference, held just after 1.30pm local time, Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio reiterated that the incident is not believed to be terror-related.

But he said additional anti-terror procedures were being put in place across the city.

"This is a tough day for New York City, but I want to thank our first responders who got here so quickly," he added.

"We feel deeply for those injured and particularly for the family of the young woman who was lost. Our prayers are with all of them."

Local reports initially suggested the suspect was being pursued by a police vehicle at the time of the collision but this was denied by Police Commissioner James O'Neill.

This page is being updated.