Copycat car-rammer? U-Haul plows into 8 pedestrians in NYC; 2 critical

The Police Commissioner described it as a “violent rampage through Brooklyn.”

By Associated Press

A man driving a U-Haul truck struck and injured several people in New York City on Monday before police were able to pin the careening vehicle against a building following a miles-long pursuit through Brooklyn.

Eyewitnesses said they saw pedestrians and e-bike riders sprawled on the ground after the truck drove through. At least eight people were hurt, including two people who were in critical condition, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.

Sewell described the driver’s actions as a “violent rampage through Brooklyn” but said there was no evidence of “terrorism involvement.”

The truck sped through the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, hitting people on a sidewalk at one point, before police stopped it more than 3 miles (5 kilometers) away near the entrance to a tunnel leading from Brooklyn to Manhattan.

Sewell said a suspect was in custody and that police were investigating seven scenes. She released few other details.

A pastry shop owner, Pat Giura, said he didn’t see the truck but saw the aftermath: a woman on the ground with her scooter or e-bike destroyed and another person hurt blocks away.

Aerial video from news helicopters showed the truck on a sidewalk, its path blocked by a police cruiser. Authorities were examining the truck to make sure it didn’t contain explosives.

The incident coincided with the start of the death penalty phase in the trial of Sayfullo Saipov, an Islamic extremist who killed eight people in 2017 by mowing them down with a rented truck.

It was not clear whether the two events were related.