A former Las Vegas resident faces several charges, including murder and attempted murder, for allegedly driving a U-Haul truck into 10 civilians and killing one of them, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced.
Weng Sor, 62, was arraigned this week before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun on a 25-count indictment. The charges include second-degree murder, first- and second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault and first-degree attempted assault.
According to the investigation, the alleged incident took place on Feb. 13, 2023, between 10:20am and 11:05am, at several locations throughout Brooklyn, starting at 55th Street and 4th Avenue in Sunset Park and concluding at 72nd Street and 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge.
According to witness accounts and surveillance footage, Sor was allegedly driving a U-Haul truck when he targeted and struck numerous people along the way, including 44-year-old YiJie Ye, who was riding an e-bike for a food delivery service at the time when he was allegedly hit by the vehicle. The victim died due to multiple head injuries.
Other victims that were allegedly struck and sustained injuries during the incident include numerous cyclists, a pedestrian standing on a sidewalk, a police officer, along with another cop who was hit by an e-bike that was being dragged by the truck. Gonzalez said that Sor also allegedly endangered numerous pedestrians, motorists and people waiting to cross the street.
Police pursued Sor, who drove from Bay Ridge to the neighborhood of Red Hook, and eventually were able to successfully box him in and arrest him, according to the investigation.
“This was a terrifying incident in which we allege that an innocent pedestrian and numerous cyclists were intentionally targeted and mowed down by this defendant, including a father of three who did not survive his injuries. We will now seek to bring the defendant to justice and to keep the streets of Brooklyn safe," said Gonzalez.
Sor has been ordered by the court to be held without bail and his next court appearance is scheduled for May 31, 2023.
