EAST HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP, PENNSYLVANIA — A Danville general surgeon pleaded guilty on July 31 to homicide by vehicle and DUI charges after a 2024 crash that killed his passenger, a 33-year-old Harrisburg nurse, when he drove into a parked tractor-trailer on Route 283 at approximately 80 mph with a BAC more than 1.5 times the legal limit.
Apar Patel, 38, initially told police that Karra Clevenger was the one driving, but admitted he was behind the wheel after learning she had died. DNA analysis later confirmed Patel was the driver. A blood test taken less than two hours after the crash showed a BAC of 0.134%. Patel told officials he had no memory of events before he started driving. He and Clevenger had spent the evening at three bars in Lancaster city after dinner, having met through an online dating app.
The crash occurred in September 2024 on the shoulder of Route 283 in East Hempfield Township. The passenger side seatbelt failed on impact and Clevenger was ejected from the car. She was then struck by several oncoming vehicles and pronounced dead at the scene. Patel was only five minutes from her car when the crash happened, according to her family.
Clevenger’s older sister, Kayla Clevenger-Knable, said the loss has been compounded by the fact that Patel is a doctor. “At what point — you’re a doctor — do you stop and think, ‘Hm, maybe I shouldn’t do this. Maybe enough is enough,'” she said.
Clevenger worked at UPMC Pinnacle Health in Harrisburg and was remembered by her family and colleagues as a nurse who made every patient smile regardless of her own circumstances. “She always made time for her patients. She made them smile. And it didn’t matter if she was having a bad day,” Clevenger-Knable said. “Her light shined across the entire United States and into other countries.”
A scholarship has been established in her memory. The Karra Clevenger Memorial Nursing Scholarship through the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation has raised between $7,000 and $8,000. “It’s a way for her to continue to make an impact on not only our teams, our staff, but also the patients that we serve,” said Matt Connors, director of development at UPMC Pinnacle Foundation.
Patel will be sentenced following the completion of a pre-sentence investigation. He was released on a $250,000 bond.
All defendants are presumed innocent of any additional charges until proven guilty in a court of law.
Interviews courtesy of local media.
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