By Michael R. Sisak and Bobby Cainá Calvan -
The Associated Press
The man who was fatally struck while driving a U-Haul truck in New York on Monday was apparently suffering from a mental health crisis and justified his behavior by claiming to have seen "an invisible object" heading towards him, police announced Tuesday.
Authorities charged Weng Sor, 62, with murder and attempted murder on Tuesday for the crimes, after fearfully driving for 48 minutes through Brooklyn's bustling Bay Ridge neighborhood.
The police managed to immobilize the truck against a building after a chase that lasted several kilometers.
Weng Sor is charged with murder and attempted murder after being hit and run in Brooklyn, New York, while driving a U-Haul on February 13. Stefan Jeremiah / AP
One person was killed and eight others were injured when the vehicle ran onto sidewalks and struck cyclists, moped drivers and at least one pedestrian, also hitting people on the road.
The U-Haul also rammed a patrol car, injuring the officer inside.
The extent of the damage and the length of time the truck was out of control raised questions about the NYPD's response, as well as whether the chase had endangered more people, after a police car went into overdrive. speeding onto a sidewalk forcing a man to safety.
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Sor, who has a history of violence and mental illness, told police he lost control of the situation after seeing "an invisible object," Chief of Detectives James Essig told reporters on Tuesday. The defendant's family confirmed that he had stopped taking the medication that the doctors had prescribed, the police officer added.
“He claims that when he is driving his van he sees an 'invisible object' approaching the car.
At that point, he says: 'I've had enough' and begins his rampage”, Essig narrated, who stressed: “There was no object”.
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Sor, who lived in Las Vegas, Nevada, with his mother, arrived in New York last week after spending time in Florida and was stopped twice at the U-Haul in the days before the attack, according to police.
He left a police station and was expected to be processed late Tuesday or Wednesday.
The U-Haul struck three people on a moped, three on a bicycle, one on an e-bike and one on foot in a busy area of Brooklyn just north of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge along New York Harbor, according to the police.
The ages of the victims ranged from 30 to 66 years.
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A 44-year-old man riding a moped died of head trauma after being struck by the truck approximately half an hour after it hit the first victim.
New York Mayor Eric Adams said the victim, whose name has not been released, was a single father "raising these children by himself."
Mohammed Zakaria Salah Rakchi, 36, a delivery man who emigrated from Algeria three years ago, was hit while running errands after dropping off his seven-year-old daughter at school.
He suffered broken bones, including multiple ribs, as well as other injuries.
On Tuesday he remained in an induced coma.
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An attorney for Rakchi's family, Derek Sells, questioned police action and whether the pursuit "was a triggering event for this driver." NYPD policy requires officers to stop pursuing vehicles when risks to officers and the public “outweigh the danger to the community.”
"It's not the first time he's been arrested"
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said Tuesday that the department is reviewing its response.
The New York police posted body camera video footage on social media showing officers urgently clearing a street full of elementary school kids near where the U-Haul was wreaking havoc.
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Sor leased the truck in West Palm Beach, Florida, on February 1, for which she paid 30 days in advance.
He stayed there until Feb. 4, when he headed for Brooklyn, where his son and his ex-wife live, according to Essig.
On February 5, the defendant was arrested in South Carolina and charged with reckless driving and possession of marijuana.
He arrived in Brooklyn the next day and surprised his son by showing up at his house in the middle of the night.
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Sor's son, Stephen Sor, 30, told The Associated Press news agency that his father had a history of mental illness.
Court records show that he was convicted and served time for multiple acts of violence, including stabbing his own brother.
“Very often he decides to skip his medication and do something like that,” explained Stephen Sor.
“It is not the first time they have arrested him.
It is not the first time that he has gone to jail, ”he lamented.
Police stopped Sor for speeding with the U-Haul on February 8 on a Brooklyn highway, where trucks and other commercial vehicles are prohibited, Essig said.
He was later seen in New Jersey on Sunday, the day before the fatal hit-and-run.
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The chase with the police ended when a patrol cut off their path and blocked the truck against a building near the entrance to a tunnel that leads to Manhattan, more than three miles from where the incident began.
After being arrested, the police chief revealed that Sor said: "You should have shot me."
Sor's criminal history includes several arrests for driving under the influence and evading a police officer in 2002, and multiple cases of assault.
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In 2015, he stabbed his brother to death 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.
Before pleading guilty in that case, he was evaluated for several months in state psychiatric facilities before being found competent to face charges, according to court records, which do not indicate any medical diagnosis but do include the measurement he received.
In an earlier case in Nevada, he was ordered to undergo therapy and community service after pleading guilty to misdemeanor battery in 2005. The judge then noted that Sor was relocating to New York and ordered him to undergo a physical evaluation. mental health when he arrived.
