Driver Rams 4 Teens in Horrible Case of Mistaken Identity: Cops

Police say 18-year-old thought group put poop in his car, ran them down
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 4, 2020 6:30 PM CST
Mistaken Identity After Poop Prank Gets 4 Teens Run Down
This undated booking photo provided by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office shows Omeed Adibi.   (San Mateo County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Two teenagers were seriously injured when a driver enraged by damage done to his car during a "prank" struck an innocent group of pedestrians he wrongly believed were responsible, police in Northern California said. Two other teenagers had moderate injuries after the attack Saturday, the AP reports. The 18-year-old driver, Omeed Adibi, of San Mateo, was arrested, Burlingame Police Lt. Laura Terada said. Officers found the injured teenagers after responding to a report that an SUV had crashed into four teenagers walking on the sidewalk before driving off, Terada said. Two of the teens were rushed to Stanford Hospital with major injuries, while the other two were taken to San Francisco General Hospital with moderate injuries, Terada said. All four are from the city of San Mateo, the Mercury News reported.

As emergency responders helped the four teens at the scene, Terada said, witnesses described the vehicle to officers and police quickly found it and the driver. Adibi was booked on charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and driving under the influence, according to jail records. Adibi allegedly believed that the four teens had placed dog poop inside his car, WPIX reports, and wanted to get back at them—but it was actually his own friends who tampered with his car. "It was a case of mistaken identity," Terada said. As of Monday morning, both teens at Stanford remained hospitalized, Terada said; one is in critical condition. A third remains at San Francisco General with moderate injuries, while the fourth was released over the weekend. Adibi remains in San Mateo County jail on no bail status. (More California stories.)

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