Outpouring of support for young victim of alleged hate crime

Dhriti Narayan remains in a coma.

A seventh-grade girl mowed down by a driver in Sunnyvale, California remains in a coma, reports American Bazaar.

Dhriti Narayan was the most seriously injured of eight people prosecutors say were intentionally struck by motorist Isaiah Peoples who thought they were Muslim.

A Go Fund Me page has raised more than $600,000 for Narayan’s medical bills.

“We, friends of Dhriti’s family, who were touched by her and her family’s caring and helpful nature, are actively working with family members and other friends along with appropriate organizations and organizing this fund raising campaign to support the family at this difficult time. The beneficiaries of this campaign will be Dhriti’s father ‘Rajesh Narayan’ and her mother,” her friends wrote on Go Fund Me.

“This tragic and disturbing news comes at a month when reported hate crimes have been at an all-time high,” the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT) wrote in a newsletter about the incident, according to American Bazaar. “In April alone, SAALT tracked 10 incidents of hate violence and 6 instances of xenophobic political rhetoric.”

Isiah Peoples, a veteran of the Iraq war, was charged with eight counts of attempted murder after steering his black 2010 Toyota Corolla into the pedestrians at the intersection of El Camino Real and Sunnyvale Saratoga Road on Tuesday evening. Four of the attempted murder charges have enhancements for causing great bodily injury.

“Based on our investigation, new evidence shows that the defendant intentionally targeted the victims based on their race and his belief that they were of the Muslim faith,” Sunnyvale Police Chief Phan Ngo said outside the courthouse.

“The FBI San Francisco Field Office has opened a federal hate crime investigation into the incident that occurred in Sunnyvale on April 23, 2019,” the agency said in a statement. “As this is an ongoing investigation, we are not able to comment further at this time.”

The crash occurred after Peoples picked up food and was heading to Bible study, police said. Witnesses said Peoples got out of his car and said, “Thank you, Jesus,” before police arrested him.

Peoples, who served a tour in Iraq 2005-2006, allegedly suffers from PTSD and is taking medication, said his brother Joshua Peoples.

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.

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