NEW YORK (WKZO-AM/FM) — There continues to be an outpouring of support for the family of the teenager from Portage who was run down and killed by a crazed New Yorker on Thursday.
This weeked, Tom Elsman visited the concrete barrier that has become a makeshift memorial for Alyssa Elsman, the 18-year-old who suffered fatal injuries during the Times Square crash. Her dad told CBS that it just proves that New York is a town “that has a big heart.”
The Family set up a GoFundMe page on Friday with a goal of raising $10,000. It quickly surpassed that figure over the weekend. They are seeking help to pay for funeral expenses and hospital bills to cover the cost of medical bills for Alyssa’s sister, Ava, who remains hospitalized with multiple broken bones and will require extended recovery time and therapy.
In New York, there are reports that the suspect in custody, Richard Rojas, may have been attempting to commit suicide by cop. Witnesses say he ran from the spot where his car struck barriers, yelling at police officers that they were supposed to shoot him, even though he was unarmed.
Friends say his experience in the Navy left him depressed, deranged and complaining about demons in his head.
Rojas is charged with murder, vehicular homicide and multiple counts of attempted murder.
