The 44-year-old Brooklyn man killed by the deranged U-Haul driver who tore through Brooklyn in a maniacal rampage was identified Tuesday as a hardworking and doting single dad.
Yijie Ye,the only fatality of the vehicular attack that injured eight others on Monday, had taken a job as an Uber Eats driver to help support his family, his cousin told The Post.
“He’s a single dad and he divorced with his wife six years ago,” Ye’s cousin, who asked to be identified as Mike, said on Tuesday.
“He’s been supporting and taking care of his kids on his own — that’s why he picked up the Uber Eats job,” the cousin said. “It was to make money to support his family.”
Ye was riding an e-bike near Bay Ridge Parkway and Fort Hamilton Parkway shortly before 10:50 a.m. when he was mowed down and mortally injured, allegedly by crazed driver Weng Sor, 62, who was awaiting charges at a Brooklyn precinct Tuesday afternoon, according to police.
The injured dad of three — to twin boys and a girl — was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, where he was in critical condition until he was pronounced dead late Monday.
The father of three was pronounced dead at NYU Langone in Brooklyn Monday.
“I know that one of the incidents is a real horrific story,” Mayor Eric Adams said of the dead dad during an unrelated press conference Tuesday. “A father was raising his children, his young children, and he was the one that died in this incident. I visited two of the other families at the hospital.
“And it was just a, just a, it’s a horrific incident,” Adams said. “Our office is going to try to be there for the family as much as we can. But it was just really despicable what happened.”
Ye came to the US from Fuzhou in China 18 years ago to find a better life — only to be cut down by the vehicular rampage, his cousin said.
Yijie Ye, 44, a single dad from Brooklyn, was identified as the first fatality from Monday’s crazed U-Haul rampage that left seven others injured in Brooklyn, one critically. BACKGRID“I received a call from the detective last night,” Mike said. “They called me and told me that my cousin has passed away from a car accident. Later we found out he was one of the victims from the U-Haul.”
In an e-mail, he added: “Unfortunately this tragic accident shattered their American dream and our family members are heartbroken by his death.”
Eight others, including a NYPD cop, were injured in the mayhem, one critically.
Ye’s neighbors described him as a caring and doting dad.
Weng Sor, 62, allegedly mowed down at least eight people in Brooklyn on Monday in a suicidal rampage which has left one person dead so far, according to police. AP
Ye recently picked up an Uber Eats gig “to make money to support his family.” BACKGRID“He’s a good person,” one neighbor said. “He takes care of his kids. He does everything — working, cooking. Everything.”
Another neighbor, Peter Chuc, said was shocked to hear Ye had died in the rampage.
“I was watching the news but I didn’t know that he was one of them,” he said Tuesday.
He said Ye had been hit by a car before but survived.
Read more of The Post’s coverage on the Brooklyn U-Haul rampage
“This happened to him before, like maybe two years ago. Like two years, he got hit by a car and he got his leg injured,” he said.
“I saw him a couple of weeks ago,” Chuc said. “I went to fix a lock for him. Like I said, he was a nice guy. He was a ver good dad. When I went the last time he was cooking for them. The kids were there playing around.
“Sometimes he used to go and collect cans after work. He was a hard-working man.,” he said. “He couldn’t speak any English, but [commicated] just by showing the hand and pointing. I can’t believe it. I’m still in shock.”
Additional reporting by Tina Moore
