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Driver who struck 19 people ruled insane
A man who drove on streets and sidewalks to run down 19 people will be placed in a psychiatric hospital after a judge ruled he was insane.
- AP
- Published: 00:04 August 2, 2008
San Francisco: A man who drove on streets and sidewalks to run down 19 people will be placed in a psychiatric hospital after a judge ruled he was insane.
Omeed Aziz Popal, 31, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to 18 felonies, including 16 counts of attempted mu-rder for the 2006 rampage through streets and sidewalks on both sides of San Francisco Bay.
The victims were hit at more than a dozen locations in Fremont and San Francisco before police surrounded Popal's vehicle and arrested him.
A separate trial is on hold in Alameda County, where he faces a murder charge for the death of a 54-year-old pedestrian. Popal is a US citizen who emigrated from Afghanistan at the age of 5.
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