FBI investigating crash that left 8 injured as hate crime

SAN FRANCISCO, California -- The FBI has opened a federal hate crime investigation into the Sunnyvale Crash on Tuesday where a suspect is accused of crashing into eight people on purpose.

Isaiah Peoples, 34, is charged with eight counts of attempted murder. The crash on El Camino Real left a 13-year-old girl in critical condition and injured seven others.

Police said they found evidence that Peoples may have targeted the victims based on their race and belief they were Muslim.

According to police, Peoples had picked up food and was taking it to his Bible study group when he drove a black, four-door sedan into a group of pedestrians at a crosswalk and sidewalk. After the crash, a witness said she heard Peoples say, "Thank you Jesus, praise Jesus," and that he appeared to be completely coherent.

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.

Peoples is now charged with eight counts of attempted murder, police said.

Investigators are also looking at whether his actions were influenced by post-traumatic stress disorder he suffered as a result of his Army service in Iraq from 2005 to 2006.

Peoples is expected back in court May 16.

The FBI released a statement saying, "The FBI San Francisco Field Office has opened a federal hate crime investigation into the incident that occurred in Sunnyvale on April 23, 2019. As this is an ongoing investigation, we are not able to comment further at this time."