Suspected driver in 'possibly intentional' California crash that mowed down 8 pedestrians identified as 34-year-old Isaiah Joel Peoples
A driver in California sped through an intersection and plowed into a group of pedestrians on Tuesday night, injuring at least eight people, including a 9-year-old and a 13-year-old.
The crash took place at about 6:30 p.m. in Sunnyvale, a suburb of San Jose, and about 45 minutes south of San Francisco.
On Wednesday, police identified the suspect as 34-year-old Isaiah Joel Peoples and executed a search warrant at his apartment. Peoples did not have any apparent injuries after the crash and refused medical treatment, police said.
Peoples is now charged with eight counts of attempted murder, police said.
At least two of the injured remained hospitalized as of Wednesday afternoon, a spokesperson for Stanford Medical Center told ABC News. Several others had been treated and released from Stanford Medical Center and El Camino Hospital, officials from the hospitals said. Two were treated at the scene, police said.
The victims ranged in age between 9 and 52, according to authorities. The 13-year-old suffered the worst injuries and is in critical condition, a spokesman for the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety announced Wednesday.
There does not appear to be a link between the suspect and victims or any information linking Peoples to a terrorist organization, police said.
According to witness statements, the driver did not appear to slow down and hit pedestrians in the crosswalk and on the sidewalk, a Sunnyvale police spokesperson said. The driver was taken into custody at the scene.
"We do have witness statements that show that vehicle did not attempt to slow down or brake, and the scene itself doesn't show any evidence of breaking," said Jim Choi of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety.
Peoples even appeared to accelerate as he neared the crosswalk where people were crossing the street, police said, adding that it appears that he intentionally ran over the pedestrians but a motive is not known at this time.
Witness Don Draper told ABC News that he was stopped at the intersection, waiting for the light to change, when the suspect drove through at a "high speed" of about 60 mph. Draper saw one of the victims as she was tossed upside down into the air and landed right in front of his car.
Draper left his blue BMW convertible at the scene as police conducted the investigation and didn't pick it up until Wednesday, he said.
Video from the scene showed a black sedan with heavy front end damage sitting off the side of the road against a tree.
"It looks like it may have been an intentional act," Choi said. "All of that is under investigation at this time. ... We know that this is an isolated event in that no one is outstanding, no danger to the community."
Multiple ambulances were called to the scene to assist with the injured patients, but the exact nature of injuries was still unclear.
"We do know that several of the patients that we had treated on scene had serious injuries, we just don't know the extent," Choi said.
ABC News' Rachel Humphries, Alyssa Pone and Alex Stone contributed to this report.
