Sayfullo Saipov trial: Argentinian tourists say West Side truck attack sounded "as if a train was passing by"
NEW YORK -- Thursday marked the third day of the penalty trial against Sayfullo Saipov, the man charged with killing eight people on Halloween in 2017, mowing them down with a truck on a bike path along the West Side Highway, he said, in order to join ISIS.
His attorneys say he offered to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty, but that was rejected.
Survivors have been taking the stand, detailing those horrific moments and their extensive injuries and loss.
READ MORE: West Side bike path terror trial: FBI agent says Sayfullo Saipov considered Times Square first
Ten friends from Argentina visiting New York City to celebrate their 30th high school reunion were biking in pairs on Oct. 31, 2017. Every man on the left side was killed as Saipov drove a rented truck onto the bike path at Pier 40, picking off cyclists.
Those who survived told the court, "I saw the moment he got rammed into at a very high speed" and it "sounded like a very loud engine. It was as if a train was passing by."
One described giving his friend CPR, "kept yelling at him, but he was not responding."
Martin Marro testified he didn't remember much, but he "could not open my eyes, was full of blood," adding a friend "positioned my head so I wasn't drowning in my own blood."
Three sisters and their mother testified Tuesday they, too, were on a trip to New York from Belgium. They were celebrating their birthdays and their mother beating breast cancer twice.
One of the sisters, 31-year-old Anne-Laure Decadt, was killed. Another family from Belgium was struck. Marion Van Reeth woke up in the hospital two weeks later with no memory of what happened. Among her many injuries, both of her legs and a finger were amputated.
READ MORE: Opening statements begin in West Side Highway bike path terror attack trial
A woman from New Jersey on a CitiBike that day took the stand Wednesday, saying she saw two cyclists get hit and "their bodies flew into the air and fell to the ground." She was then struck on her side by the truck, injuring her shoulder, and breaking her foot and ankle.
"I screamed at the top of my lungs for several minutes," the woman testified.
A witness in a cab on the West Side Highway saw a blur hit something.
"As the object went up into the air, I realized it was a person," the witness said.
She testified she then saw the truck crash into a school bus. She got out and ran over to help the cyclist but could not. She went to a second victim, but the "body was so contorted and twisted, I knew they weren't alive."
A 911 operator told her to run as someone shouted, "He's got guns, run."
Saipov was shot by an NYPD officer after pointing fake guns at him.
The defense has not been cross-examining the victims. They say Saipov did kill eight people and that there was "no excuse." They say he believed it was "God's will," and still does.
But the defense disputes the charge that he provided material support to the Islamic State. Saipov told investigators he did it in order to become a member of ISIS, but his attorneys claim he's got no real connection to the terrorist organization.
Saipov has been sitting in court with his head down mostly, looking up only a few times.
Family and friends of victims cried and comforted one another during witness testimony on Wednesday.
The trial resumes Thursday.