Man Arrested in San Jose After Car Reversed Into 3 People

A 23-year-old man has been arrested after San Jose police subdued a crowd that attempted to attack him for driving his car into three people downtown.

Christopher Atkins was taken into custody Dec. 21 on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon following a call to police about a disturbance involving a crowd of people at 1:36 a.m. Saturday near Third and Santa Clara streets, according to police Sgt. Heather Randol.

The suspect had stopped his vehicle on Third Street, shifted it into reverse and drove at a high rate of speed at a crowd after closing time for nightclubs in the area, police said.

The car struck three people, who suffered moderate injuries that were not life-threatening and were transported to a hospital for treatment, police said.

The Police Department's entertainment zone officers, who patrol Santa Clara Street and its nearby nightclubs, stopped Atkins' vehicle.

A large crowd that had gathered after the collision then turned on the officers and attempted to attack Atkins, according to police.

The officers requested emergency assistance to control the crowd, arrested Atkins and booked him into the Santa Clara County Main Jail, police said.

Atkins was later released from jail and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office had not filed charges against him as of Thursday, court officials said.