Middlesex County Teens Injured In Times Square Were On Senior Skip Day

DUNELLEN, NJ — Jessica Williams and Destiny Lightfoot are supposed to be getting ready for senior prom. Instead, these two Dunellen young women are fighting to survive. Like so many other teens, Williams, 19, and Lightfoot went into Manhattan last Thursday as part of Senior Skip Day, to have a fun, carefree spring afternoon before senior year drew to a close.

Little did they know they would be mowed down in the freak incident in which a 26-year-old Bronx man intentionally drove into a crowd of people in Times Square. One young woman from Michigan was killed, and 22 others were injured.

In total, seven Dunellen teens went into Manhattan Thursday as part of Senior Skip Day. Two in that group were injured. Williams and Lightfoot are good friends, and the two girls are both seniors at Dunellen High School. Both were among the crowd of people Richard Rojas plowed into, after which he shouted, "I wanted to kill them!" After he was arrested, he told a police officer he smoked marijuana laced with PCP. He drove on the sidewalk on Seventh Avenue near 42nd Street and drove up three blocks, to 45th Street, plowing through crowds of people.

The girls were both rushed to Bellevue Hospital in New York City, said Dunellen High School Principal Paul Lynch, where they remain.

Their injuries are very serious: Williams had to have her spleen removed, and she's still in traction due to suffering an open fractured pelvis. Her leg is broken and will require surgery. She had cuts on her face. Lightfoot was thrown into the air when Rojas' car hit her. She broke her leg and needed a titanium rod and screws installed.

"It was a phone call I never expected to receive and one I wish never had to be made," wrote Williams' cousin, Nicole Guild, on this GoFundMe page she set up for the teen. "High school prom and graduation for Dunellen are just weeks away and the excitement of all of that has been ripped away from her as she is now fighting for her life."

A similar GoFundMe page was set up for Lightfoot. A school-wide assembly was held Thursday to tell students what happened. Grief counselors were also made available throughout the day for students who needed them.

"Destiny has gone through her surgery, but is still in an immense amount of pain/drowsiness and she is being given a lot of medication," her friend Micaellah Acosta wrote.

"These girls – members of the Dunellen High School Class of 2017 – are in the thoughts and prayers of everyone in the Dunellen educational community as well as the community at large," said Dunellen Schools Superintendent Gene Mosley. "We wish them Godspeed for a complete recovery."

Tourist Alyssa Elsman, 18, who was visiting the city with her family, was killed. Her 13-year-old little sister was among those injured. They were from Portage, Michigan.

Photos taken from their GoFundMe pages