Following a Brooklyn truck rampage in which YiJie Ye, a Chinese immigrant, was killed, New York lawmakers are hoping to help bring his mother from China to the U.S. to attend the funeral.
Ye, a single father of three, was among nine people who were struck by a U-Haul truck in a “violent rampage” across Brooklyn on Feb. 13, officials said. He was the only person who died. His relative Mike Chen told The Associated Press that Ye, a delivery worker, had been on the job when the vehicle crashed into him.
Officials identified the U-Haul driver as Weng Sor, 62. While a motive has yet to be determined, Chief of Detectives James Essig told reporters last week that Sor had been having an apparent mental health crisis. The suspect made his first appearance in court last week. His attorney, Andrew Friedman, did not enter a plea but asked for Sor to be kept under suicide watch in mental health protected custody until his next court date on March 16.
Democratic Reps. Grace Meng and Dan Goldman and Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, all of New York, said Tuesday that they would be helping ShuiYing Jiang, Ye’s mother, obtain a visa, according to a news release from Meng’s office.
“My heart aches for YiJie Ye’s loved ones and the horrific and heinous manner in which he was killed,” Meng said in a statement. “His family is devastated, and we will be here for them to help facilitate this visa and assist them further in any way we can. We hope all New Yorkers will keep them, and everybody impacted by this terrible incident, in their thoughts and prayers.”
The lawmakers said they will be coordinating with the United States Embassy in Guangzhou, China, to bring Jiang to the U.S. so she can help make funeral arrangements and spend time with the victim’s children. Jiang will need to be granted a nonimmigrant visa to travel from the city of Fuzhou to New York City.
Ye, 44, had left China roughly two decades ago, according to the news release. In addition to delivering food, Ye would sometimes collect recyclables to make a living, Chen told The Associated Press.
“He had a lot of big plans for his kids, like going to college and be able to support themselves and make great contributions to society. But right now, everything just shattered,” Chen told the outlet.
Goldman said in the release that he and his fellow lawmakers will “do whatever it takes” to ensure that Jiang will be able to attend her son’s funeral.
“As a father, my heart goes out to ShuiYing Jiang and all the loved ones of the other New Yorkers who were victims of this attack,” Goldman said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
