Eight pedestrians were injured Tuesday evening in Sunnyvale, Calif., after a driver, who was reportedly speeding, may have “deliberately” hit them, police said.
The driver, identified only as an adult male, is in custody. All eight people, who were walking through a crosswalk or standing nearby, were transported to local hospitals for treatment and evaluation, Capt. Jim Choi of the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety told The Washington Post. The youngest victim is 13 years old, Choi said. Police have not identified the victims or offered updates on their conditions.
Based on a preliminary investigation, Choi said, “it looks like this may have been an intentional act by the driver.”
“We don’t have any witnesses saying the vehicle tried to avoid the collision,” said Choi, a public information officer. “Based upon just what was seen at the scene, the evidence on scene and some of the statements we obtained, there was no braking. The vehicle didn’t try to swerve out of the way.”
Investigators are working to determine a motive, Choi said. He added that the incident was an “isolated event in the sense that we don’t have anyone outstanding, so the community is safe.”
Calls reporting the collision started coming in around 6:40 p.m. local time, Choi said. He said the driver was alone in a black four-door sedan when he plowed through the pedestrians along a major road in the city, located just west of San Jose. The car came to a stop after the driver hit a tree on the side of the road, Choi said. Authorities said they did not believe the driver sustained any injuries, and he has not been charged.
Photos of the scene showed police examining a black vehicle with a heavily damaged hood. Emergency vehicles and police cars blocked the road, their lights flashing.
Debris, including two overturned bicycles, could be seen scattered in the road near a crosswalk.
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