Dunellen teen hit by Times Square car, thrown into the air, may come home today

DUNELLEN — One of the New Jersey teens injured in Times Square last week may be headed home from the hospital Tuesday.

Dunellen school superintendent Gene Mosley told MyCentralJersey.com that Destiny Lightfoot, 18, may be able to continue her recovery at home if her condition stabilizes.

Seniors Lightfoot and Jessica Williams were in New York last week as part of "Senior Skip Day," with several other Dunellen students, on a sunny, summerlike day with temperatures well into the 80s.

A GoFundMe page created to help with Lightfoot's medical expenses said that she was thrown into the air when she was hit by the car driven onto a crowded sidewalk by Richard Rojas, killing one and injuring 22.

"She broke her tibia in her left leg and has received a titanium rod and screws to support her leg and a muscle fracture in her right foot," according to the GoFundMe page.

MyCentralJersey.com reported that Lightfoot also broke an ankle.

The Dunellen High School Children's Fund, also known as the Carol Fund, is collecting donations for both families at district schools..

Jessica Williams, 19, the other Dunellen student severely injured in the incident, continues her recovery as well from a broken leg, fractured pelvis, and surgery to remove her spleen, according to the GoFundMe page created to help with her family's expenses.

Mosley told MyCentralJersey.com that Williams is "healing nicely" and has been able to talk to her family, though she remains sedated.

Rojas drove his car Thursday through Times Square, then made a U-turn and steered the car onto a sidewalk, plowing through helpless tourists for three blocks before crashing into protective barriers, police said.

After he was detained, he said he wanted to "kill them all" and that police should have shot him to stop him, a prosecutor said at his court appearance on Friday. They said Rojas also admitted to smoking marijuana laced with PCP sometime before the crash. Officials are awaiting toxicology reports.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com.

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