After working three long shifts an enervated trainee doctor died in a car crash, despite fighting to stay awake by singing to his wife on his hands-free mobile phone, an inquest in Bury St Edmunds has heard.
Ronak Patel, a trainee anaesthetist, was so worn out that he hit a lorry just before 9am on August 3 last year. He is thought to have fallen asleep at the wheel on the A1088, near his home in Ixworth, Suffolk.
His 33-year-old wife, Helen, told police that they had been singing to each other over the phone to help him stay awake before the line was cut off. Ronak was driving home from the Norfolk and Norwich University. His home is 40 miles away from the hospital where Ronak had worked since February last year.
She tried calling him 14 times but in vain. She then decided to get in her car to find him. She was met by police, who told her that there had been an accident.
Accident investigator PC Mark Webb said: “The most plausible explanation for the collision was that Dr Patel fell asleep.”
The inquest heard Ronak suffered a broken neck and other injuries following collision with the heavy goods vehicle.
Yvonne Blake, Suffolk assistant coroner, concluded he died as a result of his car being involved in a collision with a heavy goods vehicle.
A spokesman for the hospital said: “He was a highly regarded and capable doctor and was extremely popular within the department.” His mother, Mina Patel, said: “He was an inspiration to everyone he met.”
Ronak grew up in Gosport, Hampshire, where his parents run a newsagent's. He attended Brune Park School on Military Road in Gosport and studied medicine at the University of Leicester before working at a hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand.
