We are just learning that a car drove through a crowd of pedestrians in Times Square in New York City, killing one and injuring 12 others.
ABC News is reporting that the driver is in custody and he was “in his 20s with two DWIs on his record, tried to flee before he was taken into custody.”
.@SandraSmithFox: 1 person in custody, not confirmed this person is the driver. #TimesSquare https://t.co/MjUKohB4G0 pic.twitter.com/MV3tBUIikR
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 18, 2017
The incident happened at 45th Street and Broadway and “the car appeared to catch fire after crashing. Emergency vehicles are at the scene.”
Due to a vehicle collision with pedestrian injuries, emergency vehicles are in the area of #TimesSquare. Expect delays in the area.
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 18, 2017
From Fox News:
“We saw people laying on the sidewalk…with crowds of people laying around them,” one witness told Fox News. “You could see clumps of people down the sidewalk with people all around them trying to help them.”
Several buildings in the area were reportedly on lockdown as police swarmed the busy intersection, which is heavily populated with tourists. Numerous blocks had been taped off by police around the scene.
Authorities have not yet said if the car was intentionally driven into a crowd or if the incident was accidental in nature.
A maroon sedan could be seen in multiple photos upended on steel barriers and a lamppost at the corner of 45th Street and Broadway. The FDNY received the first emergency call just before noon.
The Governor of New York is on the scene as well getting briefed on the situation:
In Times Square getting briefed by the NYPD. pic.twitter.com/xUR4kAPBnZ
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) May 18, 2017
This is a breaking news story and we will provide any updates as they come in!