Pulkit Gandabhai Patel: Driver admits leaving personal injury lawyer for dead in Westminster bike hit and run

A 43-year-old man has admitted leaving a personal injury lawyer fighting for his life after a hit and run in Perth’s northern suburbs. Pulkit Gandabhai Patel was driving a white Mitsubishi panel van when he hit cyclist Jeffrey Robert Potter, 60, on Wanneroo Road, Westminster about 6pm on December 15. Mr Potter suffered life-threatening injuries and was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital for medical treatment. But Patel fled the scene — only to return a short time later. He faced Perth Magistrates Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to a charge of driver failed to stop and ensure assistance received after incident occasioning grievous bodily harm. His defence lawyer Mark Gunning said he did not seek any reports, at this stage, to assist with sentencing. Patel, from Osborne Park, had his bail renewed on a $2000 personal undertaking and must report weekly to Northbridge Police Station. He also had to surrender his passport and is prohibited from places of departure. The matter will go to the WA District Court on May 22 for a sentence mention. Mr Potter, a solicitor and barrister with Foyle Legal, is still recuperating and is expected to pursue Patel for civil damages. He is a veteran of the profession, specialising in medical negligence and catastrophic injuries claims - including from motor vehicle accidents - since 1991. “My mission is to help injured people recover compensation for their injuries, so they may, so far as is possible, regain that which they have lost, as a result of the negligence of others,” he says on his profile. He lists karate and “riding my bicycle around the bike paths of the State” among his hobbies.