A man who rammed multiple cars on a downtown Spokane street Saturday had to be restrained by bystanders until police arrived, according to witnesses.

Six cars were damaged in the incident and one man was bitten while struggling with the driver, identified by police as 40-year-old Jason Hoy.

Joe Alleman was driving west on Riverside Avenue when he stopped in the right lane across from the STA Plaza for a car pulling out of a parking spot. After he stopped, his vehicle was hit from behind, propelling it forward, he said.

“He revved it and hit me three more times,” Alleman said. His Toyota Scion spun out after the fourth hit and collided with a Toyota Corolla.

Hoy, who was driving a black Honda Civic, sped off west. He hit another car less than a block away and lost control, crashing into two parked cars on the south side of Riverside near Lincoln Street, said Spokane police Cpl. Jordan Ferguson.

Hoy got out and was described by witnesses as erratic, Ferguson said. Witnesses told police that Hoy approached an occupied car while yelling unintelligibly.

“We can’t tell if he was trying to steal it,” Ferguson said. “The people in that car thought he just seemed out of his mind.”

Several bystanders tackled Hoy and held him until police arrived. During their struggle with Hoy one man was severely bitten on the arm, Ferguson said.

Hoy is facing assault charges, Ferguson said.

“It looks like he hit them on purpose,” Ferguson said of the cars.

The two parked cars were heavily damaged. A tan Acura belonging to two Washington State University students visiting from Pullman was totaled after the force of the crash pushed it into a light pole and a parking meter. The front end of a black Lincoln Navigator also was smashed in.