On Monday, a man driving a U-Haul truck veered onto the pavements of New York City. He drove into a group of scooter riders, killing one and wounding seven others before police pinned the careening vehicle against a building after a lengthy pursuit through Brooklyn.
Hours after being seriously injured, a 44-year-old man was pronounced dead, according to a law enforcement officer. The government representatives who talked to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity did so because they could not discuss the topic publicly.
A police officer apprehended the motorist and took him in for questioning. Weng Sor, 62, was named by his son, who described him as a complex man with a record of violent behavior and prison time.
Over an hour, the chaos unfolded as the truck sped through the busy Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn, hitting people at various places and eventually diverting on and off a highway as police after it.
Keechant Sewell, the commissioner of the police, called it a “violent rampage.” “Nonetheless, they claimed there was no proof of “terrorist participation.”
SURVEILLANCE VIDEO: #Surveillance video obtained by News 12 shows a U-Haul swerving onto sidewalks and injuring eight people Monday in #Brooklyn. https://t.co/D1J1HvRSvo pic.twitter.com/o6GBvWv9qX
— News12BK (@News12BK) February 13, 2023
NOW: The U-Haul involved in todays violent rampage through Brooklyn was just taken away from the crime scene. It was recovered here on the corner of Columbia St & Hamilton Avenue earlier today. The driver was arrested. @News12BK @News12 pic.twitter.com/hxMJXJ05CY
— Faith Graham (@FaithGrahamTV) February 14, 2023
Be advised there are still several active crime scenes around Bay Ridge and news crews everywhere. From the first neighbors who called 911 to our first responders to the ER doctors, I want to thank everyone for coming together as we always do. We are shaken but never stirred.
— Justin Brannan (@JustinBrannan) February 13, 2023
I have been briefed on the developing situation in Brooklyn. My team is coordinating with @nyspolice and @NYPDNews, and are ready to provide any assistance needed as the investigation continues.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) February 13, 2023
More than three miles (five kilometers) after the chase began, near the entrance to a tunnel between Brooklyn and Manhattan, police halted the truck that Sor had hired in Florida on February 1.
Stephen Sor, Weng Sor’s 30-year-old son, told The Associated Press that his father suffered from mental illness and had been residing in Las Vegas until very recently, where he was convicted of and sentenced to prison for many violent crimes, including stabbing his brother.
“This is something he frequently does instead of taking his medication for, “During an interview conducted near his home in Brooklyn, Stephen Sor made the following statement. “He has a history of arrests, so this isn’t the first time. As the saying goes, “This isn’t his first rodeo.”
The carnage disrupted the afternoon routine and brought to mind previous vehicle attacks on cyclists and pedestrians in the dense city, such as the 2017 terrorist attack that killed eight people on a Manhattan bike path and the 2017 rampage by a disturbed motorist in Times Square, which killed one and injured twenty.
At 10:30 a.m., authorities received the first complaint of a truck hitting people and cyclists in a busy area of Brooklyn, located just north of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge along New York Harbor.
Saturday Night Fever and episodes of “Blue Bloods” were filmed in this neighborhood, which is home to people from all over the world. Part of the New York City Marathon passes through there every autumn.
Katherine Aronova claims to have witnessed a U-Haul truck disregard a red light, collide with a delivery man on an electric bicycle, and then drag him a short distance.
His face was all smeared up with blood. He was “out cold,” with his shoes all over the sidewalk, as Aronova put it. The electric bicycle was entirely smashed.
This truck was caught on camera when it collided with a scooter and then swerved onto the sidewalk, narrowly missing a pedestrian who jumped out of the way in time. A police cruiser then began a high-speed pursuit of the truck on the sidewalk.
A witness named Andrea Vasquez said in Spanish, “I was in shock and didn’t know what was happening until I noticed the police patrol was after it.” She then said, “Thank God that man rescued himself.” The gentleman had just spared death.
It has been reported that a police officer who responded to the scene was hurt.
After the chase finished, the truck was seen on a sidewalk with a police cruiser on its route, as seen by a news helicopter flying overhead. Security personnel checked the car for explosives.
U-Haul spokesman Jeff Lockridge confirmed that Sor rented the truck on February 1 in West Palm Beach, Florida and that it was due to be returned on March 3. He showed us his driver’s license and the full payment for the month in advance. Lockridge stated that there was no history of Sor renting from U-Haul.
About a week ago, in the middle of the night, Weng Sor astonished Stephen Sor by showing up in Brooklyn. He called their connection “rocky” and said that they rarely exchanged words.
“As long as he leaves us alone, I try just to put some space between us,” “The late Stephen Sor made this statement.
According to court and prison documents, Weng Sor was incarcerated in Nevada for approximately 17 months in 2015 after he stabbed his brother in Las Vegas. He was sentenced to 364 days in county jail in 2020 for stabbing someone in the arm and chest, and he has already served nearly ten months.
According to court documents, Sor was evaluated at state psychiatric hospitals for several months before pleading guilty in that case. There is no possible diagnosis listed, but the documents do indicate that Sor was prescribed medication.
After pleading guilty to misdemeanor violence in a 2005 Nevada case, Sor was sentenced to treatment and community service. A mental health evaluation was mandated by the judge, who took note of Sor’s impending relocation to New York.
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