"I hear voices", say a man who plunged his car into people in New York Times square killing one.

An 18-year-old woman has been killed when a driver crashed into a security barrier after knocking down dozens of people in Times Square.

The driver, a 26-year-old US Navy veteran, told officers he was hearing voices and expected to die, two police officials said.

Alyssa Elsman, from Portage, Michigan, died and 23 people were struck by the car before it was stopped by a security barrier. Police said the woman’s 13-year-old sister was among those that were injured.

Helpless pedestrians had little time to react as the car went the wrong way up the pavement before smashing into a row of steel security barriers installed in recent years to prevent vehicle attacks on the square. The car came to rest with its two right wheels in the air.

Photographers snapped pictures of Rojas after he climbed from the wrecked car and ran through the street before he was tackled by a group that included a ticket seller and a muscular door supervisor at a nearby Planet Hollywood restaurant.

Rojas initially tested negative for alcohol, but more detailed testing was being carried out, according to two police officials.

The officials said Rojas told officers he had been hearing voices.

More pictures.

The man that drove the car

She was killed when the car plunged into people

Metro U.K.