Queens psychiatrist denies lying to save his driver's license. He killed three people in an auto accident.

From the New York Daily News

The Queens psychiatrist who killed three members of a Bronx family after suffering an epileptic seizure behind the wheel of his minivan denied yesterday that he lied about his condition to keep his driver's license.

Alexander Juwah, 44, of St. Albans, pleaded not guilty in Queens Criminal Court to making false statements to the Department of Motor Vehicles on a license-renewal form he filed before the Nov. 4, 2006, crash.

Juwah kept his hands clasped behind his back during the brief hearing, dressed in a crisp, green-plaid button-down shirt and jeans. He remained silent throughout the proceedings.

"This is just a sad case," his lawyer, Richard Leff, said after the arraignment, adding that his client did not intend to mislead anyone. "The issue was whether or not there was intentionally a false misstatement on the license renewal."

In November 2003, Juwah checked the DMV form's "no" box to indicate he did not have any medical condition that would have caused him to lose consciousness while driving, prosecutors said.

Around 10 a.m. the day of the crash, Juwah blacked out at the wheel of his Ford Windstar, which rear-ended a Mitsubishi Eclipse and rammed three two other cars before going airborne.

The van landed atop a Dodge Neon, killing the three people inside — Jesse Rutledge, 80; his son Jesse Jr., 47, and Jesse Jr.'s girlfriend, Zetteleen Smith, 24. Juwah was not charged in the deaths. His two young sons were also hurt.

Juwah was aware of his condition — and its dangers — after being involved in a prior car accident as a result of his seizure condition, Assistant District Attorney Kristin Fraser told Queens Criminal Court Judge Steven Paynter.

"As a medical practitioner and as a person suffering a seizure disorder, the defendant should have known better than to try and hide his medical condition," District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a statement yesterday. Juwah told police he had taken his medicine the day of the accident.

Brown added that truthfully reporting the seizures "may have prevented three innocent people from losing their lives."

Juwah was released on $1,500 bail yesterday. He is due back in court Aug. 22 and faces up to four years in prison if convicted.