The Latest on eight people injured in Northern California after a car plows into them (all times local):
3:50 p.m.
Northern California authorities say they are holding a man on eight counts of attempted murder after he drove into a busy intersection in a Silicon Valley suburb.
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety Chief Phan Ngo said Wednesday that six of the eight injured were taken to hospitals Tuesday. Seven of the eight were hit.
He said the youngest victim was an 9-year-old boy who was treated and released with minor injuries. He said four people remain hospitalized with major injuries, including a 13-year-old Sunnyvale resident in critical condition.
Ngo said they have no motive for the crash, and there is no evidence linking Isaiah Peoples to known terrorist organizations.
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2:15 p.m.
The mother of a Northern California man arrested after he allegedly plowed into a group of pedestrians, injuring eight, says her son is an Army vet who experienced post-traumatic stress disorder while serving in Iraq.
Leevell Peoples told The Associated Press on Wednesday her son Isaiah Peoples is a “model citizen” and would not deliberately drive his car into pedestrians.
She says the only situation she can imagine could have influenced her son is a bout of PTSD.
Leevell Peoples says Isaiah was an Army sharpshooter in Iraq but was discharged because of his PTSD.
She said her son graduated from Sacramento State University after returning from Iraq in 2007.
She adds he had “a bad episode” with PTSD about two years ago.
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1:55 p.m.
Police in Northern California have identified the man arrested after he allegedly deliberately plowed into a group of people, injuring eight.
The Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety says 34-year-old Isaiah Joel Peoples, of Sunnyvale, was arrested Tuesday.
Sunnyvale Police Capt. Jim Choi says investigators are still trying to determine a motive in the crash Tuesday evening. The FBI says it is assisting with the probe.
Choi says some of the eight people injured, including a 13-year-old girl, were at a corner or on the crosswalk when the car hit them before smashing into a tree. The victims’ conditions have not been released.
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12:05 p.m.
A man who witnessed a California crash that injured eight people says when he approached the driver’s side of the car, the man was repeatedly saying, “thank you Jesus.”
Don Draper, of San Jose, says he was enraged after seeing the Toyota Corolla slam into pedestrians at high speed, then crash into a tree. He says he marched up to the car ready to confront the driver.
Draper says the driver was crouched over the steering wheel, unhurt. The car was hissing steam and the airbag had deployed.
Draper said the driver’s speech was not slurred and he did not look at him.
Later, he saw the driver had climbed out of his car and was lying face down on the grass outside.
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11:35 a.m.
Police officers are at the apartment in Northern California of a man that authorities say appeared to deliberately plow into a group of people, injuring eight.
Authorities have not identified the man who was driving the Toyota Corolla but officers on Wednesday were at an apartment associated with the car’s owner in Sunnyvale, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of San Francisco.
Sunnyvale Police Capt. Jim Choi says investigators are still trying to determine a motive in the crash Tuesday evening. The FBI says it is assisting with the probe.
Choi says some of the eight people injured, including a 13-year-old girl, were at a corner or on the crosswalk when the car hit them before smashing into a tree.
The crosswalk reopened Wednesday morning.
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7:30 a.m.
The FBI says it’s assisting California officials in the investigation of a motorist who appeared to deliberately plow into a group of people, injuring eight.
Prentice Danner, a spokesman for the FBI’s field office in San Francisco, says the Sunnyvale Police Department is the lead agency in the investigation. But Danner says that if it is determined a federal crime was committed, the bureau will become more involved.
Sunnyvale Police Cpt. Jim Choi says the driver of the car was arrested and has been identified but that his name is not being made public to avoid compromising the investigation.
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6:30 a.m.
Authorities in Northern California say a man was arrested after he appeared to deliberately plow into a group of people, injuring eight, but that a motive is still under investigation.
Sunnyvale Police Cpt. Jim Choi tells KPIX-TV that witnesses told investigators the motorists was speeding and drove directly toward the pedestrians without trying to veer away or stop the car before striking the pedestrians Tuesday night.
Choi says some of the eight people injured were at a corner or on the crosswalk and that officials have to indication the motorists tried to avoid them. The department says the crosswalk remains closed Wednesday as officials investigate.
He says officials are looking into whether the driver was having a medical emergency or purposely hit the pedestrians.
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12:00 a.m.
Authorities say eight people have been injured after a motorist appeared to deliberately plow into them in Sunnyvale.
The Bay Area city’s Department of Public Safety says it happened Tuesday evening.
Eight people were taken to the hospital, including a 13-year-old boy.
There’s no word on their condition or a motive for the apparent attack.
The driver was taken into custody after the car smashed into a tree.
KGO-TV reports that witnesses say the man apparently made no effort to stop before hitting the pedestrians.
