Angry driver repeatedly ran over woman who is homeless, prosecutors allege

MILLBRAE, Calif. - Criminal proceedings were suspended Thursday in the case of a man accused of deliberately running over a homeless woman in Millbrae because he felt she had been mean to him.

Garrett Young, 23, will now be evaluated by two doctors after his defense attorneys questioned his mental competency. 

Young has been charged by San Mateo County prosecutors with attempted murder for allegedly running over Gryselda Joseph, 53, with his BMW SUV in the parking lot of a Starbucks in Millbrae early Monday morning.

"He saw her, and he decided, 'You know what? I'm going to kill her,'" said District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Wagstaffe said the driver didn't hit her just once. 

Young "hit her while she was walking on the sidewalk and then ran over her, backed up, ran over her three more times, a total of four times," Wagstaffe said.

The victim is now on life-support at a hospital, and her family's been summoned from out of state.

Sheriff's investigators found surveillance footage and the damaged BMW outside the Millbrae home where Young lives with his family, authorities said.

Young was arrested.

It turns out Young works at the Safeway across the street from the Starbucks. His duties including cleaning and collecting shopping carts. The woman regularly goes into the store. 

Investigators say the suspect felt the woman had been mean to him for months, shouting at him for not cleaning the bathroom to her liking.

"He had had numerous occasions where she would yell at him and he felt angry about it. He just didn't like it," Wagstaffe said.

Authorities said Young has a learning disability and autism. The Safeway store hires individuals with special needs. 

Even so, the suspect's been charged with attempted murder.

"He clearly knew what he did was wrong," Wagstaffe said.

KTVU legal analyst Michael Cardoza said, "The facts of this case are pretty egregious."

 Cardoza said the fact that the defendant may be disabled won't absolve him of liability in this case.

"There are plenty of people with mental defects that are law abiding citizens so that will not be an excuse," Cardoza said.