Rakesh Patel, 33, was a Medical Intensive Care Unit fellow at MedStar Washington Hospital Center
Washington Metropolitan Police is looking for suspects in a fatal hit and run that killed an Indian American doctor after he was struck by his own stolen vehicle in Northwest DC.
The victim in the Tuesday night incident has been identified as 33-year-old Rakesh Patel, of Silver Spring working for Medstar. His parents drove from Ohio to identify his body.
Police said Wednesday their preliminary investigation revealed that at about 8:03 pm on March 8, an unknown suspect entered Patel’s unoccupied Mercedes in the 1800 block of Vernon Street, Northwest.
Read: Indian American couple killed in jet ski crash in Florida (December 11, 2021)
The suspect attempted to flee the scene in the vehicle and struck Patel at the intersection of 18th Street and Florida Avenue, Northwest. The suspect then fled the scene in Patel’s vehicle.
DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services transported the victim to a local hospital for treatment, Police said. After all life-saving efforts failed, the victim was pronounced dead.
DC Police confirmed Wednesday afternoon the stolen Mercedes had been recovered.
A close friend of the victim’s girlfriend, Kristine Froeba, told FOX 5 Patel went to drop off something to his girlfriend that night. The two were hugging goodbye when Froeba said the couple saw Patel’s vehicle start to move.
Patel apparently pursued his stolen car. Froeba told FOX 5 by the time she caught up to Patel, her boyfriend had been struck and was laying on the ground, severely injured.
Patel was a Medical Intensive Care Unit fellow at MedStar Washington Hospital Center.
A spokesman for the hospital told FOX 5 that after completing his Internal Medicine Residency with MedStar Washington, Patel stayed to complete his Infectious Diseases fellowship. He was currently training as a Critical Care fellow.
“He will be greatly missed by those whose lives he touched. We’ll keep Dr. Patel’s family and peers in our thoughts and prayers during the days ahead,” the MedStar Washington Hospital Center’s spokesperson said in a statement.
Read: Thieves kill D.C. doctor with his own car in hit-and-run (March 9, 2022)
DC Police has sought the public’s assistance in identifying and locating suspects who were captured by surveillance cameras. They can be seen in this video: https://youtu.be/xsiDm23z1hg.
Anyone with information has been asked to call police at (202) 727-9099 or text the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE at 50411.
Crime Solvers of Washington, DC currently offers a reward of up to $1,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for a crime committed in the District of Columbia, police said.