U-Haul strikes, injures eight pedestrians at two sites in Brooklyn

MICHAEL R. SISAK

The Associated Press

NEW YORK — 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 mileslong pursuit through Brooklyn.

At least eight people were hurt at two locations, including two people who were in critical condition, the fire department said in an email.

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.

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.

Police vehicles surround a truck that was stopped and the driver arrested, Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, in New York. Police stopped the U-Haul truck and detained the driver after reports that the vehicle struck multiple pedestrians in New York City on Monday. Authorities say the driver of the truck fled the scene after mounting a sidewalk in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn and injuring several people. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

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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.

A spokesperson for New York City Mayor Eric Adams said a suspect was in custody.

“There are no additional credible threats at this time,” Fabien Levy tweeted.

Members of the NYPD bomb squad examine a rental truck that was stopped and the driver arrested, Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, in New York. Police stopped a U-Haul truck and detained the driver after reports that the vehicle struck multiple pedestrians in New York City on Monday. Authorities say the driver of the truck fled the scene after mounting a sidewalk in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn and injuring several people. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

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.