A Chicago doctor committed suicide Saturday in the Allegheny County Jail, where he was being held on charges he caused the death of a Wisconsin motorcyclist in a September crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike as police chased him at high speeds through two states.
Dr. Shiva Lal Acharya, 33, a Nepalese doctor who resided in Chicago, killed himself at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, according to Ramesh Lamichhane, the doctor's nephew who lives in Harrisburg.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiners Office confirmed Dr. Acharya's death and was conducting an autopsy to determine the cause of death this afternoon.
Dr. Acharya was driving from Chicago to a job interview in Easton, Pa., early on Sept. 4, when he began fleeing Ohio Highway Patrol officers at speeds of up to 120 miles per hour because he did not have a valid drivers license in that state due to a previous drunk driving charge.
The chase of Dr. Acharya's black BMW was continued by Pennsylvania State Police until the doctor lost control of his car 33 miles from the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line and slid into a motorcycle operated by Keith Brown, 46, of Green Bay, Wisc.
After a hearing Sept. 26, Dr. Acharya was ordered held without bail on charges of involuntary manslaughter, homicide by vehicle, third degree murder, fleeing and eluding police, causing an accident involving death, failure to notify police of the accident and fleeing the scene of a fatal crash, plus numerous traffic violations.
More details in tomorrow's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
First published on December 14, 2008 at 1:28 pm
