Driver who struck 19 people ruled insane

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.