Man faces 8 counts of attempted murder after driving into pedestrians, police say

Jacey Fortin

April 25, 2019 11:33 AM

A California man was charged with eight counts of attempted murder after he drove his car into several pedestrians at an intersection in Sunnyvale, California, on Tuesday evening.

Man faces 8 counts of attempted murder after driving into pedestrians, police say

It appeared that the man, identified as Isaiah Peoples, 34, intentionally ran into the pedestrians, Chief Phan Ngo of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety said Wednesday.

“Peoples did not slow down prior to the collision and appeared to accelerate as he moved into the crosswalk, where the victims were crossing,” Ngo said in a video on Facebook. “The vehicle struck seven of eight victims and ultimately crashed into a nearby tree.”

“Following the collision, a witness reported that Peoples stated something similar to, ‘Thank you, God,’” Ngo added.

The eight victims included three minors. One, a 13-year-old girl, suffered the most serious injuries and was hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday evening.

Three adults were also hospitalized with serious injuries and were in stable condition. The rest of the victims had been released and it did not appear that Peoples had been hurt, Ngo said.

He added that Peoples, who was driving a Toyota Corolla, appeared to have acted alone and that it was unclear what the motive was. “There is no apparent connection between the suspect and the victims,” he said.

Peoples’ mother, Leevell Peoples, told The Associated Press that the episode might have been related to post-traumatic stress disorder that she said her son had experienced after serving in the Army in Iraq.

“Unless the car malfunctioned, he would not have done that,” she said. “He’s like the perfect, model citizen. He’s an Army vet, he’s a good kid, never been arrested. I promise you: It was not deliberate. If anything, it was that Army.”

It was unclear if Peoples had a lawyer, and family members could not immediately be reached Wednesday evening.

The crash occurred at the intersection of El Camino Real and Sunnyvale Avenue, an area surrounded by shopping plazas and restaurants. Peoples is a resident of Sunnyvale, which is in Northern California, just west of San Jose.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Jacey Fortin