Ma Gaochao, 60, was charged with endangering public safety, the Nanyang Intermediate People's Court in Henan province said. It will announce the verdict later.
Ma, a former employee of the Nanyang prosecuting office, was upset that he was unlikely to be repaid money he loaned to a real estate developer and he decided to draw public attention by creating a major incident, the court said.
Ma rammed a car into a crowd of students when a local middle school had a midday break, killing one student and injuring 11 others, the court said.
On Monday, Beijing police announced they had arrested a man who fled to the capital after hitting six boys in their heads with an iron hammer in the eastern province of Jiangsu. Two of the boys were killed. The man reportedly had a tense relationship with his wife.