U-Haul intentionally plows into 8 NYC pedestrians, 1 dead

A 62-year-old man drove a U-Haul truck through the streets of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn where he intentionally plowed into people on Monday, killing a 44-year-old person and seriously injuring 7 others. The police pursuit lasted miles through the streets but he was finally stopped when the vehicle was pinned by police near the entrance of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel that connects Brooklyn to Manhattan.

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell described it as a "violent rampage," but said there was no evidence of "terrorism involvement."

The driver, Weng Sor, has a history of violent behavior, but it isn't known if he knows karate.

Sor rented the U-Haul in Florida on Feb. 1st and drove it to New York where he used it as a deadly weapon and then led the cops on a 3 mile chase until he was finally caught. 

His son, Stephen Sor, 30, said that his father has a lengthy history of mental illness and had been living in Las Vegas until recently. He had been convicted and served time for multiple acts of violence, including stabbing his own brother."Very frequently he'll choose to skip out on his medications and do something like this," Stephen Sor said in an interview outside his Brooklyn home. 

"This isn't the first time he's been arrested. It's not the first time he's gone to jail."

The late morning attack was reminiscent of the 2017 vehicle attack in lower Manhattan on the West Side Highway bike path that killed 8 people and injured 20 others. That attack was carried out by an Islamic jihadi named Sayfullo Saipov who was recently convicted on all 28 counts and is awaiting to find out if he will receive the death penalty.

The first report of the attack into pedestrians and cyclists came in at 10:30 a.m., police said. Other reports of the lunatic followed as he drove through a crowded section of Brooklyn, just north of the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge.

One witness, Katherine Aronova, said she saw the U-Haul run a red light, hit a delivery worker on an e-bike in the middle of the road and drag him a short distance.  "His face was covered with blood. He was unconscious," and his shoes were scattered on the sidewalk, she said. "The electric bicycle was destroyed completely."

A security camera captured the truck hitting a scooter, swerve onto a sidewalk and nearly struck a pedestrian, who dived to safety just in time. 

A police patrol car chased the truck down the sidewalk at high speed. One cop who responded to the incident was among the injured.

After Sor was capture, the vehicle was examined for explosives and found none.

Sor rented the truck in West Palm Beach, Florida on Feb. 1 and was due to return it there on March 3, U-Haul spokesperson Jeff Lockridge said. He provided a valid driver's license and paid for a 30-day rental in advance. U-Haul had no record of Sor previously renting from the company, Lockridge said.

Stephen Sor said he was surprised when Weng Sor showed up in Brooklyn in the middle of the night about a week ago. He said they didn't speak often and described their relationship as "rocky."

"I try to just distance, as long as he leaves us alone," Stephen Sor said.

In 2015, Weng Sor stabbed his brother in Las Vegas and served about 17 months in a Nevada prison, according to court and prison records. In 2020, he stabbed someone in the arm and chest with a knife and was sentenced to 364 days in county jail, with about 10 months of time already served.

Before pleading guilty in that case, Sor underwent several months of evaluations at state psychiatric facilities until he was found competent to face charges, court records show. The records don't list a possible diagnosis, but note that Sor was placed on medications. My guess is that he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

In an earlier case in Nevada, Sor was ordered to undergo counseling and perform community service after pleading guilty to misdemeanor battery in 2005. The judge noted at the time that Sor was moving to New York and ordered him to submit to a mental health evaluation once there.

Let this recent incident be his mental health evaluation. He needs to be put away where he can do no harm.

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