Thief Runs DC Doctor Over With His Own Car After Hijacking It

A Washington doctor was run over and killed Tuesday night by a hijacker who drove off in his car, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

Rakesh Patel, a 33-year-old doctor at MedStar Washington Hospital Center parked his car on a street while he got out to greet his girlfriend and drop off a package, according to police, the Post reported. While he had his back to the car, at least one person reportedly jumped into the running vehicle and drove off.

Patel chased after his car and was eventually run over and killed, according to authorities, the Post reported. His girlfriend, Rachel Lincoln, described it as “a nightmare.”

Police said they have not made any arrests, but found the car Wednesday, abandoned on a residential street near the Maryland line, the Post reported.

Lincoln described Patel as the type of person who would “would go out of his way for anybody, not just you or me, but his friends, his family and his patients,” the Post reported. The MedStar hospital where he worked said “He will be greatly missed by those whose lives he touched.”

A video released by police shows two “persons of interest” getting out of what officials believe is Patel’s vehicle, although the driver of the car was not shown.

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Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser stressed the city’s focus on crime, but mentioned the assailant “probably didn’t intend to kill anybody.”

“As you know, there is no more important issue for us right now than dealing with people who are committing crimes in our city,” she said. “We saw one person who probably didn’t intend to kill anybody, but did and devastated a family.”

Crime, specifically carjackings are on the rise across the U.S., The New York Times reported. In 2021, Washington, D.C., reported 426 carjackings, up from 142 in 2019, the Post reported.