Thirteen hurt by San Francisco hit-and-run driver

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – At least 13 people were injured
in San Francisco around noontime on Tuesday when a male driver
went on a hit-and-run rampage through the Laurel Heights and
Western Addition neighborhoods near the center of the city,
police officials said.

The driver, who was taken into custody by police about an
hour after the incident began, was also linked to a fatal auto
accident earlier in the day in the city of Fremont across the
San Francisco Bay, Neville Gittens, San Francisco Police
Department spokesman, told reporters.

Thirteen people, including three described as critically
injured, were taken to local hospitals for treatment.

The rampage began about noon when the driver of a black
Honda SUV began racing through the Laurel Heights and Western
Addition districts, which blend commercial and residential
neighborhoods.

Gittens said he plowed along sidewalks and streets and
through intersections, intentionally striking pedestrians along
the way. The accidents “were intentional, with no regard to who
the suspect was hitting,” he said.

Witnesses said the man “looked like he was in a video game,
targeting people in intersections,” local radio station KCBS
reported.

The driver was finally blocked in an intersection by San
Francisco Police about an hour after the mayhem began. Police
did not give out the driver’s identity and further information
about the Fremont incident was not immediately available.