Doctor suspended after injuring man in car crash

ASPEEDING doctor who was jailed after pinning a pedestrian against a wall in a horrific crash has had his medical licence suspended for eight months.

Dr Daryl Perera was driving at 49mph in a 30mph zone when he failed to stop at a give way sign and crashed into another car in Birmingham city centre on July 12, 2016. The two speeding vehicles collided just before midnight at the junction of Bishopsgate Street and Tennant Street, leaving a pedestrian seriously injured.

The man in his 30s was thrown up in the air and pinned against a wall in the collision and suffered a fractured pelvis, knee cap and feet.

Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) chairman Paul Burns wrote in his report : “On reaching a crossroads junction with give way signs, Dr Perera did not stop his car and collided with another vehicle.

“Dr Perera was driving at 49 miles per hour and the other vehicle at 48 miles per hour, both in an area where there was a 30 miles per hour speed limit.

“At the point of collision a pedestrian was knocked up into the air and onto a brick wall receiving serious injuries which required intensive inpatient care and ongoing extensive rehabilitation. There was no suggestion of drink or drugs involved.”

Perera was convicted of causing serious injury by dangerous driving in May at Birmingham Crown Court.

In June he was sentenced to two years in prison and was banned from driving for six years. Dr Perera, who is currently appealing his sentence and driving disqualification, was suspended from the General Medical Register for eight months.

His representative at the hearing Mr Geering said Perera had carried out a “thoughtless, stupid and reckless act but was not malicious and nor did it involve deliberate aggressive driving.”

He also suggested “although Dr Perera is in custody, the real punishment for him was the burden of guilt that he will carry with him for the rest of his life”.