By DEEPTI HAJELA and MICHAEL R. SISAK
NEW YORK (AP) — A person driving a U-Haul truck swerved onto sidewalks and plowed into scooter riders in New York City on Monday, injuring a number of folks earlier than police had been in a position to pin the careening automobile towards a constructing following a mileslong pursuit.
At least eight folks had been damage, two critically. Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell described the motive force’s actions as a “violent rampage through Brooklyn” however mentioned there was no proof of “terrorism involvement.”
The truck sped by means of the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn earlier than police stopped it greater than 3 miles (5 kilometers) away close to the doorway to a tunnel main from Brooklyn to Manhattan, authorities mentioned.
The driver was arrested. Police didn’t instantly launch his identify, however his son recognized him as Weng Sor, and informed The Associated Press he had a historical past of psychological sickness.
“Very frequently he’ll choose to skip out on his medications and do something like this,” mentioned Stephen Sor, 30, in an interview outdoors his Brooklyn house. “This isn’t the first time he’s been arrested. It’s not the first time he’s gone to jail.”
Court data present Weng Sor was sentenced to 1 to a few years in a Nevada jail for stabbing his brother in Las Vegas in 2015.
The first report of a truck crashing into pedestrians and cyclists got here in at 10:30 a.m., police mentioned, and different reviews adopted because the automobile moved by means of a busy part of Brooklyn.
Katherine Aronova mentioned she noticed the U-Haul run a purple mild, hit a supply employee on an e-bike in the midst of the highway and drag him a brief distance.
“His face was covered with blood. He was unconscious,” and his sneakers had been scattered on the sidewalk, Aronova mentioned. “The electric bicycle was destroyed completely.”
A safety digicam video confirmed the truck clip a scooter, then swerve onto a sidewalk and practically plow right into a pedestrian, who dived to security simply in time. A police patrol automobile then adopted the truck down the sidewalk at excessive velocity.
“I was in shock and didn’t know what was happening until I saw the police patrol was chasing it,” a witness, Andrea Vasquez, mentioned in Spanish. “Thank God that man saved himself,” she added of the one who narrowly escaped.
Aerial video from information helicopters confirmed the truck on a sidewalk after the chase ended, its path blocked by a police cruiser. Authorities examined the automobile to verify it didn’t comprise explosives.
Sewell mentioned a police officer responding to the incident had a minor damage.
Stephen Sor mentioned his father had been dwelling in Las Vegas for the previous few years. He mentioned he didn’t communicate to his father typically, and was utterly caught off guard when he confirmed up in Brooklyn in the midst of the evening a couple of week in the past.
He described his relationship along with his father as “rocky,” and mentioned his father had a historical past of psychological sickness, in addition to not taking drugs and performing out.
“I try to just distance, as long as he leaves us alone,” Sor mentioned.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com”