REDWOOD CITY — A 19-year-old Redwood City man was charged with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon after pursuing a driver who hit his car then fled and hitting two pedestrians with his car, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
The man was also charged with causing great bodily injury and failing to stop after a traffic accident resulting in injury, according to the DA’s office. He pled not guilty to the three felony charges. As of Tuesday, he remained in custody on $50,000 bail.
The man had been driving a red Mercedes when his car was struck by a driver in a Jeep, which caused damage to the car but no injuries, the DA’s office said. He called 911 and began to follow the Jeep, disregarding directions from the 911 operator to stop following the car.
Meanwhile, the Jeep driver called friends who met at Vera and King Streets, the DA’s office continued. The Mercedes driver drove into the crowd of people, hitting two individuals who were not involved in the incident: an 18-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman. The two pedestrians were taken to Stanford Hospital with injuries that were serious but not fatal, authorities said.
The man then drove away. When police responded, the man denied hitting anyone to police, but he later admitted that he did hit pedestrians, the DA’s office said. He claimed that he left “in fear of the crowd.”