Dun Meng, the Chinese man who was allegedly carjacked by the Tsarnaev brothers after the Boston Marathon bombing, recalled the dramatic ordeal Thursday while testifying at the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev.
Meng, who came to Boston to attend Northeastern University, told the jury that on the night of April 18, 2013, he was out for a drive to clear his head and pulled over to send a text message. That's when Tamerlan Tsarnaev approached his car, forced his way in, and demanded Meng drive.
As they were driving, Tsarnaev told Meng, "I did the Boston explosions and just killed a cop in Cambridge."
Meng testified that he drove Tamerlan Tsarnaev to a Bank of America in Watertown, while the younger Tsarnaev brother followed in another car. When they arrived at the bank, the brothers started to transfer "things" from the other car to his SUV, Meng said.
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev then took Meng's ATM card and withdrew some cash. Dzhokhar got into the backseat of the SUV while Tamerlan took over driving and headed for a gas station, where hoped to fill up and drive to New York City.
During the drive, the tense situation inside the SUV nearly unraveled when Meng's roommate called and texted him.
Minutes later, they arrived at a gas station in Cambridge and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went into the store to get snacks and drinks. Meng testified that he saw the stop as his last opportunity to make a run for it.
Meng waited until Tamerlan Tsarnaev's hands were not on his gun, then jumped out of the cabin and darted across the street to another gas station.
Images released by the court on Thursday show Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at the ATM in Watertown, Massachusetts, on the night of the carjacking.
When he got to the gas station across the street Meng called 911.