1 dead, 7 injured after U-Haul driver plows into people in Brooklyn: Sources

The driver is in custody.

February 13, 2023, 11:49 PM

A U-Haul driver is in custody after allegedly striking eight people in a "violent rampage" in multiple locations in Brooklyn, New York, on Monday, according to NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell.

Four people have been hospitalized, two in critical condition and two in serious condition, the commissioner said at a news conference.

One victim, a 44-year-old, has died, police sources later told ABC News.

The victims range in age from 30 to 66 years old, the NYPD said.

New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell (2-R) arriving for a press conference on the scene where a U-haul moving truck (L) was stopped after running over multiple pedestrians in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, Feb. 13, 2023.
Justin Lane/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Members of the NYPD bomb squad examine a rental truck that was stopped and the driver arrested, Feb. 13, 2023, in New York.
John Minchillo/AP

Four others suffered minor injuries, Sewell said.

One of the eight injured was a police officer who tried to stop the driver, she said.

"We have seven different locations to process," the commissioner said.

New York Police gather at the scene where a rental truck was stopped and the driver arrested, Feb. 13, 2023, in New York.
John Minchillo/AP
Members of the NYPD bomb squad pause before approaching a rental truck that was stopped and the driver arrested, Feb. 13, 2023, in New York.
John Minchillo/AP

The driver was identified by police sources as 62-year-old Weng Sor. He allegedly screamed that he wanted to die as he sped off and led police on a brief chase, according to a law enforcement official and a local councilman.

He allegedly fled from Brooklyn's Bay Ridge neighborhood through Sunset Park before being apprehended a few miles away in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook, ending the 40-minute ordeal.

A U-Haul driver is in custody after allegedly striking pedestrians in the Brooklyn, New York on Feb. 13, 2023.
WABC

Police searched the truck and found nothing suspicious, sources said.

U-Haul said in a statement that the truck was rented for 30 days with a return date of March 3, and that the daily cost of the rental was paid in advance and on a valid contract.

"It was an in-town rental, meaning the equipment was supposed to be returned to the location from which it was dispatched," U-Haul said. "Our customers provide valid identification/driver's license, valid form of payment, and any additional forms of meaningful assurance our rental agents deem necessary to try to make certain our equipment will be returned in proper condition, and at the stipulated time and place. These criteria must be met before a transaction occurs."

A U-Haul driver is in custody after allegedly striking pedestrians in the Brooklyn, New York on Feb. 13, 2023.
WABC

The company said it has no record of the suspect previously renting with U-Haul prior to this rental.

"U-Haul is working closely with law enforcement officials to meet their needs in this case. Any further details should come from law enforcement," the company added.

There are no additional credible threats, according to the New York City mayor's office.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she's been briefed on the incident and that New York State Police are on the scene.

"I am praying for everyone who was injured today in Brooklyn," Hochul tweeted. "Grateful for the swift response of @NYPDnews to apprehend the suspect and of our first responders to tend to those injured."

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