SAN JOSE — As they had long hinted, Santa Clara County prosecutors Thursday filed hate crime charges against a man they say mowed down a group of people with his car in Sunnyvale last month, specifically targeting an Indian Hindu family he presumed was Muslim.
In late April, when 34-year-old Isaiah Joel Peoples was charged with eight counts of attempted murder in connection with the melee, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office and Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety announced they were investigating the crash as a possible hate crime. That was soon followed by the FBI opening up a parallel hate-crime investigation.
But hate crime charges were not filed until this week and are expected to be formally announced Thursday, at Peoples’ third court hearing since the April 23 crash.
Eight people were injured when Peoples drove his Toyota Corolla into a group of pedestrians and bicyclists in the crosswalk at El Camino Real and Sunnyvale Avenue, before crashing the car into a tree. He was described in multiple witness accounts as saying, “I love you, Jesus,” “Thank you Jesus,” and “Praise Jesus,” or words to that effect, after the crash.
The most seriously injured victim, 13-year-old Dhriti Narayan, remains on life support after suffering serious head injuries. Her father and 9-year-old brother were also injured in the crash. They are Hindus of Indian descent.
Investigators say Peoples was delivering food to a Bible study group — his father was a nondenominational pastor — before the crash occurred.
In an April interview with this news organization, Peoples’ attorney, Chuck Smith, objected to the assertion that his client was Islamophobic, saying Peoples has numerous Muslim relatives. He also noted Peoples’ military service in Iraq, where he said the defendant helped rebuild Muslim communities. Family members who attended Peoples’ previous court hearings also said he was not prejudiced against Muslims and asserted that Peoples may have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from his time in the Army, which included combat duty.
Supporters locally and internationally have rallied around Dhriti, donating more than $600,000 to an online GoFundMe account to help cover medical expenses and support her family.
