Driver 'intentionally' rams into Anaheim hotel, injuring 3, authorities say

Anaheim police are searching for the driver of an SUV who backed into three people at the Anaheim Lodge on Thursday afternoon.

The man purposely drove a white Lexus SUV into the hotel on South Beach Boulevard around 4:30 p.m., targeting one of three people injured in the collision, Anaheim Police Sgt. Shane Carringer said.

In addition to two people outside, the impact also struck the hotel clerk, who was in the office on the other side of the wall.

The clerk’s wife, Dipa Ahir, who works in the hotel kitchen, came running when she heard the commotion. She saw her husband lying the ground and a woman pinned against the wall.

“[It was] really scary,” Ahir said. “I can’t explain. I can’t imagine this kind of [thing] happened.”

Her husband was taken to the hospital with a broken leg, chest injuries and some scratches on his hand, Ahir said. Carringer confirmed that all three victims were taken to the hospital.

He called the incident an assault with a deadly weapon.

“A hit-and-run would be an accident. The action of the crash would be not intentional,” Carringer said. “This was intentional.”

The relationship between the driver and those who were struck was not immediately clear, nor was a motive in the attack, authorities said. Ahir said neither she nor her husband had seen the driver or his vehicle.

Workers temporarily patched up the hotel’s stucco wall Thursday afternoon, Ahir said, and will finish repairing it soon. Carringer said the building was not structurally damaged.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.