The death penalty trial begins for a man accused of killing eight pedestrians with a truck in New York

The death penalty trial of the man who allegedly murdered eight innocent people in New York City by hitting them with a truck on a bike lane in Lower Manhattan in 2017 has begun.

Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, 34, repeatedly expressed his support for ISIS after the attack, including to an FBI agent scheduled to testify at Saipov’s trial in Manhattan federal court.

Earlier in the trial Monday, a federal prosecutor told jurors that shortly after the 2017 attack, the terrorist made a proud confession to an FBI agent, smiling as he asked for an IS flag to be hung in his hospital room.

US Assistant Attorney Alexander Li told jurors in his opening statement, “He smiled at the memory of his attack and asked that an ISIS flag be hung in his hospital room.”

Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, 34, repeatedly expressed his support for ISIS after the 2017 attack in which he allegedly plowed through a crowd on a bike lane in New York

Defendant Sayfullo Saipov (second from left) sits at the defense table on the opening day of his trial on Monday. He faces 28 counts in his alleged 2017 act of terrorism in Lower Manhattan

Investigators inspect the truck that Saipov used to plowed down hordes of people in New York City on October 31, 2017

Li added that Saipov made a “proud confession” that he was keen to give to an FBI agent. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in New York City since September 11, 2001.

He described to the court the horror that unfolded in Manhattan late October afternoon when Saipov decided to indiscriminately ram his truck at 60 miles per hour through crowds of pedestrians and cyclists after veering off the West Side Highway onto the bike lane .

“It was a scene of destruction and horror. Mangled bicycles covered the bike lane, their riders—humans—unconscious or dead. Survivors staggered around looking for family and friends,” Li said. ‘Scream filled the air.’

Among the evidence presented at the trial – which is expected to last months – is Saipov, an Uzbek immigrant who has expressed his allegiance to the global terror group.

Sayfullo Saipov, the suspect in the New York City truck attack, is seen in this handout photo released Nov. 1, 2017

Prosecutors say Saipov has repeatedly dedicated himself to ISIS’s mission, in phone calls to his family from prison, statements in court during post-arrest appearances, and to FBI investigators.

After plowing through a crowd of victims on the West Side’s lower bike lane, Saipov ended his killing spree by crashing his truck into a school bus carrying two children.

One of the children suffered “severe brain damage,” according to prosecutors, and another passenger suffered broken ribs and a liver injury. He also killed five tourists from Argentina who were cycling on the bike path that day.

Personal emergency response following the Lower Manhattan tragedy on October 31, 2017

US Attorney Alexander Li details the 2017 terrorist attack the defendant carried out in a Manhattan court on Monday

Marion Van Reeth, who lost both her legs in the West Side Highway terrorist attack, arrives January 9 at Manhattan Federal Court with her husband Aristide Melissas

After his vehicle stalled, Saipov jumped out of the wrecked truck with a fake gun, which he pointed at a responding police officer, who shot him dead immediately.

Another victim, Marion Van Reeth, a Belgian mother who lost both her legs in the attack, was seen arriving in court with her husband on Monday. Her then 16-year-old son was also injured in the attack.

Saipov faces the death penalty if convicted on the 28 counts he faces in the terror trial. The jury must ultimately vote unanimously to sentence him to death.