West Side bike path terror trial: FBI agent says Sayfullo Saipov considered Times Square first
NEW YORK -- Tuesday marked the second day the trial against Sayfullo Saipov, the man charged with killing eight people on Halloween in 2017, after driving a truck on a bike path along the West Side Highway.
Among those testifying was a family who watched their loved one die on what was supposed to be a special trip and a woman who came within an inch of being struck.
CBS2 also learned Saipov considered Times Square as a target first.
READ MORE: Opening statements begin in West Side Highway bike path terror attack trial
Anne-Laure Decadt of Belgium was visiting New York City with her mother and two sisters on Oct. 31, 2017. The 31-year-old said it was a "dream trip" and a "celebration of life" since their mother beat breast cancer twice and the young women all had birthdays.
Her sister, Friedel, broke down as she took the stand.
The prosecutor asked, "Did all four of you return back to Belgium at the end of your trip?"
"No," the sister replied.
"Who did not return?" the prosecutor asked.
"Anne-Laure ... because she was murdered," Friedel replied.
Anne-Laure Decadt was among the eight killed when Saipov drove a rented truck onto the bike path at Pier 40 along the West Side Highway. Friedel testified the women were riding bikes together, adding, "I went over to my sister and started screaming very loudly. Her gaze was lifeless. She just stared up into the air and there was lots of blood coming out of her mouth."
Carolea Goldfarb, an assistant district attorney in Brooklyn at the time, was commuting home on the bike path and saw the truck hit one person and then three more.
"Boom. Boom. Boom," she testified. "They went up in the air. Their bicycles went up in the air. They came crashing down."
She said the truck sped towards her and "missed me by about an inch," as she made a hard lean to the right into a dirt path.
The defense admitted in court Saipov did kill eight people, believing it was his "religious obligation." However, he pleaded not guilty to the 28 counts against him that include murder and providing material support to the Islamic State.
Saipov told investigators he did it in order to become a member of ISIS.
But attorneys argue he has no connection to ISIS other than being on the receiving end of messaging, that a video from the terrorist organization's leader urging an attack in New York was a general one on an encrypted chat and not directed at Saipov, himself.
CBS2 also learned from the FBI special agent who questioned Saipov that he contemplated going to Times Square, but "because of traffic and congestion" thought it would be difficult to carry out an attack. So, he chose the West Side "because it was easy."
Another woman from Belgium said in court she had no memory of what happened. She said she woke up in the hospital two weeks later and, among her many injuries, she had to have both legs amputated.
More witness testimony is expected Wednesday.