A 39-year-old East Bay man charged with attempted murder after allegedly striking four male bicyclists with his car in San Francisco last week is being held without bail in San Francisco County jail. David Mark Clark, of Albany, was scheduled to be arraigned on 11 felony charges today, but a spokeswoman with the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said the defense counsel requested that the arraignment be postponed until June 17.
Prosecutors on Monday charged Clark with four counts of attempted murder, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon and three counts of battery causing serious bodily injury, district attorney’s office spokeswoman Erica Derryck said.
The district attorney’s office sought to set Clark’s bail at $4 million. Instead, the judge ordered a no-bail hold. Police arrested Clark Friday after he went to the Albany police station to report that he had been carjacked, police said.
The four bicyclists were all struck within a six-minute period between 9:43 p.m. and 9:49 p.m. Wednesday in the city’s Mission and Potrero Hill neighborhoods. Police said Friday it is still unknown why Clark allegedly targeted the cyclists.
The car, a blue Nissan Rogue sport-utility vehicle, first hit a 40-year-old man in the 2700 block of Harrison Street, then a 33-year-old man in the 2800 block of Harrison Street, a 39-year-old man at the intersection of 23rd and Pennsylvania streets, and a 25-year-old man at 17th and Missouri streets, according to police.
Three of the victims were hospitalized. Two have since been released, and the third remained in the hospital today in serious condition, a hospital spokeswoman said. After the last collision, the Rogue crashed into a parked car and hit a pole, police said. The driver then got out and ran, leaving his wallet, keys and cell phone inside. Those items were later traced to Clark, police said.
Police investigators said that, based on accounts of the victims and of witnesses, it appears the bicyclists were deliberately struck.
