DA: Weng Sor, U-Haul driver accused of mowing down multiple people in Brooklyn, indicted on murder, other charges
Weng Sor, middle, walks out of the 68th Precinct in Brooklyn accompanied by New York Police Department detectives on Feb. 14. Credit: AP/Stefan Jeremiah
A former Nevada man accused of killing one person and injuring nine others as he allegedly drove a van through Brooklyn in a reckless chase with police earlier this year was indicted Monday on murder and other charges, officials said.
Weng Sor, 62, was charged with one count of second-degree murder and related counts of attempted murder, assault and attempted assault stemming from a Feb. 13 incident that began in the Bay Ridge section, and finally ended when his U-Haul van was stopped by police near the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.
Sor allegedly drove the van on sidewalks and recklessly through the streets of Brooklyn, striking numerous e-bike riders, cyclists and pedestrians, officials said at the time.
One Brooklyn man, YiJie Ye, 44, a father of three who was working as a restaurant delivery service rider on an e-bike, was killed after being struck by Sor, police said. Two officers were also injured in the pursuit, investigators said.
“This was a terrifying incident in which we allege that an innocent pedestrian and numerous cyclists were intentionally targeted and mowed down,” Gonzalez said in a statement announcing the indictment.
Sor was arraigned Monday on the 26-count indictment before a Brooklyn State Supreme Court judge and ordered to be continued held without bail, Gonzalez said.
After Sor was arrested on Feb. 13, police said he told investigators that he started his wild drive after seeing an object in from of him which caused him to start driving through city streets, apparently to elude the unidentified object. After Sor was arrested in February he was ordered held with a psychiatric exam and was recently found unfit for now to stand trial, a spokesman for Gonzalez said.
Sor is next due in court on May 31. His defense attorney couldn’t immediately be reach for comment.
Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.
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