SAN FRANCISCO -- Days after a jailhouse suicide attempt, a man facing 18 counts of attempted murder for allegedly running down 18 people in San Francisco in August pleaded not guilty to the charges Tuesday in San Francisco Superior Court.

Omeed Aziz Popal, a 29-year-old Fremont man, entered a plea Tuesday while appearing in court for the sixth time. A judge ruled Nov. 22 that Popal was mentally sound to stand trial.

Popal is accused of striking 18 people Aug. 29 in a black Honda Pilot on the streets and sidewalks of San Francisco. He also awaits trial in Fremont for the hit-and-run death of a 54-year-old man.

He was scheduled to return to court on Jan. 9 for discovery motions and date setting.

Just last week, Popal tried to hang himself with his sweat shirt he had tied to a pipe while awaiting transfer to County Jail No. 2 at the Hall of Justice, said Eileen Hirst of the Sheriff's Department.

"Deputies heard a suspicious noise and went immediately to where he was," Hirst said. Popal was standing on a chair, but "never succeeded in kicking the chair out from under him," she said.

Popal was sent to San Francisco General Hospital for evaluation, Hirst said. He had been housed in the psychiatric ward there following his August arrest until recently, when he was moved to the county jail.

Popal's family and his lawyer say he is mentally ill, but the court-appointed doctor who reported on him last week said his condition had improved after his medication was changed.