After a 68-year-old man caused a fatal wreck, police arrested the driver as well as a man who was nowhere near the scene of the accident — the driver’s doctor. Texas police arrested the doctor on multiple drug charges, including allegations that he overprescribed his patients. The driver who caused the wreck was supposedly under the influence of prescription medication at the time.
According to authorities, the pain medicine doctor might have been involved in the running of a so-called pill mill. These types of operations usually involve providing legal prescriptions for pain medication to patients; however, it is unclear why he is suspected of being involved. He has also been named as a suspect in the deaths of multiple deaths from prescription medication overdoses.
It is not clear if police are taking the driver’s health condition into account when considering the medication that he was on. The man who caused the wreck was possibly under the influence of pain medication that had been prescribed to him, but the man’s wife also pointed out that he has a brain tumor. It is possible that this might have made him disoriented.
Drug charges and accusations of driving under the influence can have a profound impact on a person’s personal and professional future. While the effects of intoxicated driving are indeed well-understood, prescription medication can be somewhat tricky to gauge, especially for drivers who are suffering from medical conditions. It is important for anyone accused of committing a crime in Texas to approach criminal accusations with care in order to ensure the most favorable outcome possible is achieved.
Source: chron.com, “Prosecutors: Pain medicine doc over-prescribed to retiree involved in fatal crash“, Mihir Zaveri and Cindy Horswell, Sept. 24, 2015
