The families of victims of last October’s West Side bicycle path terrorist attack in New York City are suing the city for upwards of $600 million.
As the New York Post reports, the lawsuit, filed Friday, claims the city knew about the potential danger in the area but did not plan accordingly with adequate security measures.
Sayfullo Saipov is accused of using a rental truck to kill eight people on the Manhattan bike path on Halloween 2017. But that was only after two other cyclists met their deaths in the same area — not to terrorists, but drunk drivers.
The lawsuit notes that the Department of Homeland Security had also flagged vehicles as a means for terrorists to injure or kill innocent bystanders.
After the Halloween attack, concrete barriers placed at more than four dozen vital points in the path where vehicles could enter to potentially wreak mayhem.
Attorney Howard Hershenhorn, who is representing the victims in the suit, accuses the city of failing “to implement measures and precautions to prevent vehicles from intentionally entering the bicycle path despite the fact that it was foreseeable.” The lawyer further advises that the city neglected its responsibilities to “take the necessary precautions based on appropriate engineering studies for this target location in the financial capital of the world.”
The families of seven of the eight deceased have hired Hershenhorn to seek financial compensation for the crime.
In response to a query from the New York Post, a city spokesman said the lawsuit is under review and reserved comment for now.