U-Haul truck strikes multiple people at Brooklyn intersection

Police vehicles and ambulances surrounded a U-Haul truck parked on a sidewalk in Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge neighborhood on Monday morning after the vehicle struck multiple people, authorities said. 

Emergency response crews had rushed to the area after the truck reportedly slammed into people at the intersection of Bay Ridge Parkway and 5th Avenue,  CBS New York reported. The station is streaming live aerial footage from above the scene.

The U-Haul box truck had evaded a traffic stop near the intersection, for reasons still unknown, the New York City Police Department said in a statement to CBS News. Police also confirmed that the suspect allegedly operating the box truck was in custody by 12 p.m. ET, about an hour after the incident took place. 

The police department said around the same time that four people had been hit by the truck and each sustained injuries, although details about their conditions remained unclear. At least one person struck by the U-Haul was a pedestrian, according to the NYPD, which characterized the other three injured individuals as moped operators.

The U-Haul driver attempted to flee the scene after the collision on Monday morning, according to CBS New York, which noted that police were able to box in the vehicle several blocks away. However, the suspect the then rammed two police cars and temporarily escaped, the station reported. Officials confirmed that he was arrested shortly after.

New York City Councilman Justin Brannan responded to the incident in a message shared on Twitter.

“A man driving a U-Haul went on a rampage in Bay Ridge. He was just apprehended in Sunset Park. Several people were hit and badly injured. We have no idea of motives at this time but this wasn’t an accident,” Brannan wrote. In a subsequent tweet, the councilman said that the suspect “was actually arrested near the BK Battery Tunnel,” adding, “at least 6 people” are now suspected to have been hit by the U-Haul, with two “in very bad shape.” 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.