The Boston bombers' Time Square plans could have been carried out if the Boston Police's manhunt, car chase and shootout never took place.

Officials told the Associated Press (AP) that Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were on their way to New York City last Thursday to set off what final explosives they had left. The Boston Marathon Bombers' Time Square plans reportedly included driving from the Boston area in their stolen SUV to New York City, where they would let loose with five pipe bombs and a pressure-cooker explosive like the ones that blew up at the marathon, according to New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

Authorities determined this when Dzhokhar reportedly revealed the information when he said the Boston bombers' Time Square plans included the brothers "travel[ing] to Manhattan to detonate their remaining explosives in Times Square." Dzhokhar survived the shootout that killed his brother. He was found on a boat in a Watertown, Mass. front lawn last Friday.

The commissioner continued explaining what Dzhokhar said. "They discussed [the Times Square plan] while driving around in a Mercedes SUV that they hijacked after they shot and killed the officer at MIT," the police commissioner said. "That plan, however, fell apart when they realized that the vehicle they hijacked was low on gas and ordered the driver to stop at a nearby gas station."

When that happened, the original driver of the SUV ran away and was able to call the police.

"We don't know if we would have been able to stop the terrorists had they arrived here from Boston," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "We're just thankful that we didn't have to find out that answer."

Dzhokhar, 19, is charged with carrying out the Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and wounded more than 260, and he could get the death penalty.