2006 San Francisco SUV attacks

Vehicle-ramming attacks in California, United States October 2015 October 2026 February 2025 Omeed Aziz Popal, a native of Afghanistan, struck 18 pedestrians and killed one in the San Francisco Bay Area with his black Honda Pilot SUV on August 30, 2006, when he was 29 years old. On July 31, 2008, at the Hall of Justice in San Francisco, state judge Carol Yaggy ruled Popal not guilty by reason of insanity of the attempted murder charges and committed him to a state psychiatric facility. According to the San Francisco Public Defender's Office, Popal was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and had a history of severe mental illness. He had been involuntarily committed for mental treatment twice within the six months before the attacks.Omeed Popal Found Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity, San Francisco Public Defender's Office, July 31, 2008. In 2013, Popal pled guilty to murder charges, was ruled criminally insane, and was committed to a state psychiatric hospital for the rest of his life.Fremont man takes plea deal in 2006 hit-and-run. East Bay Times, July 15, 2013 Victims The first person to be attacked, Stephen J. Wilson, 54, was struck in Fremont, California, and died at 11:50 am. Another victim was hospitalized in critical condition. Popal struck two men at the intersection of Sutter and Steiner Streets in San Francisco. He passed through the intersection again in an attempt to hit the men a second time—and then a third time—before moving on. A witness said he saw one victim's body "thrown 25 feet."October 2015 Multiple witnesses and victims said that the driver appeared to be aiming for people, intentionally hitting them. Other victims included Vera Jenkins, 40; Pedro Aglugov, 70; Leon Stevens, 56; and Susan Rajic, 43.Driver's rampage: The Human Toll: The Victims: 'No pattern' in targets of rampage, sfgate.com, August 30, 2006.A life of 'what-ifs' https://web.archive.org/web/20091227191826/http://mercurynews.info/wishbook/2007/page.php?w=susan 2009-12-27 , mercurynews.info, November 22, 2007. One police officer was slightly injured when Popal was apprehended. Reactions California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called Popal's actions "malicious and hateful". He commended authorities and offered his condolences to the victims and their families. He further said that "acts of hate such as this will not be tolerated in California".October 2015 See also Vehicle-ramming attack References Category:Vehicle-ramming attacks in the United States Category:2006 in California Category:Crimes in the San Francisco Bay Area Category:Attacks in the United States in 2006 Category:August 2006 in the United States Category:2000s vehicle-ramming attacks