SUNNYVALE — A driver suspected of plowing into a crowd of people in a busy Sunnyvale intersection Tuesday, injuring eight people, including a 13-year-old girl, stumbled out of his car after the crash mumbling, “Jesus, I love you,” according to a man who watched the horrific crash unfold in front of him.

The FBI is assisting the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety in investigating the incident, which Sunnyvale Capt. Jim Choi said could have been an intentional act based on the driver’s lack of attempts to slow down or stop before hitting the victims. In fact, Choi said witnesses told police that the driver might have sped up his dark-colored Toyota Corolla before the rampage ended when he crashed into a tree.

“Based upon initial witness accounts, there is no indication of the vehicle ever trying to brake,” Choi said Wednesday morning. “There is no indication the driver was trying to avoid the pedestrians.”

The registered owner of the Corolla is Isaiah J. Peoples of Sunnyvale, according to DMV records. On Wednesday morning, police were stationed in front of Peoples’ listed residence in the city.

While noting that police are considering that the crash was an attack, Choi said investigators are “looking at all potential motives” and that there “is no indication of terrorism” in the early stages of the investigation. Choi said Sunnyvale DPS is spearheading the case, and that the FBI was alerted as a matter of course “in case this turns out to be more than the scope of Sunnyvale.”

The FBI affirmed that the agency is on alert in the event any elements of the case fall under its jurisdiction.

“Should it be determined that a federal crime was committed, we will become more involved,” FBI spokesman Prentice Danner said.

Police said several victims remain in area hospitals, but did not immediately provide an update on their conditions Wednesday morning, and scheduled a 2:30 p.m. Wednesday news briefing at the Sunnyvale DPS headquarters.

Officers were called to the intersection of El Camino Real and Sunnyvale Avenue around 6:40 p.m. for a report of a major-injury collision, and arrived to find eight people had been hit by a car. Choi said the driver was traveling westbound on El Camino Real when he hit a group of pedestrians crossing Sunnyvale Avenue in a crosswalk.

San Jose resident Don Draper said he was on the way to visit a friend to watch the San Jose Sharks’ playoff game Wednesday evening, and had stopped for a red light at the intersection, when he saw the Corolla speeding past his left side.

“I didn’t really notice him until about he was directly in front of me, going at least 60 miles an hour,” Draper said. “Several people got hit. One person, a woman, was launched in the right in front of me. She was upside down, feet pointing straight up, flipped around and landed right in front of my car.”

Police say the man continued driving, allegedly striking additional pedestrians on the corner and sidewalk before crashing into a tree. Draper, 72, said he got out of his car and ran after the driver.

“I’m so horrified and enraged,” Draper said. “He had gone onto the grass and that’s when he hit the tree.”

Draper added: “He kept repeating, mumbling over and over again, ‘Jesus, I love you.’ He seemed to be dazed. At this point I walked back from where the car was, toward the intersection and dialed 911. I was so nervous and upset, I was having trouble dialing.”

On his way back to his own car, Draper recalled seeing officers tending to an injured bicyclist, mangled bike nearby. He discovered soon after that a man was knocked about 30 feet from the intersection, and that his daughter was the teen girl who was also injured in the crash.

Choi said officers arrested the driver, who was not injured. Draper said he saw the driver get handcuffed, and that he did not obviously appear to have been driving under the influence.

“His speech was not slurred when he was saying ‘Jesus I love you.’ “

Both directions of El Camino Real were closed following the collision, and the westbound lanes were closed overnight before re-opening Wednesday morning.

Anyone who witnessed the collision or has information about the case can contact the Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety at 408-730-7110.

Staff writers Thy Vo, John Woolfolk and Nico Savidge contributed to this report.

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