Van Nuys Man Surrenders in Crash That Killed Jogger : Wanted: A retired doctor sought in a fatal Massachusetts hit-and-run accident turns himself in after entering a New York psychiatric ward.

John F. Kappler, the retired Van Nuys doctor charged with hitting and killing one pedestrian and injuring another in Massachusetts, surrendered Thursday in New York, four days after he checked himself into a hospital psychiatric ward, authorities said.

Kappler, a former anesthesiologist at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, is expected to be arraigned today in Cambridge Municipal Court for the Saturday incident, said Tom Samoluk, deputy district attorney of Middlesex County.

Kappler is charged with manslaughter and several misdemeanor violations, Samoluk said.

Samoluk said Kappler surrendered to New York authorities Thursday afternoon and was expected to waive extradition proceedings.

According to police reports, Kappler was driving along Alewise Brook Parkway in Cambridge, Mass., about 10:30 a.m. Saturday when he lost control of his car and drove onto a footpath that runs parallel to the roadway.

He struck Paul Mendelsohn, 32, of Arlington, Mass., who was jogging, said Officer Larry Gillis of the Massachusetts Metropolitan Police.

Mendelsohn, a psychiatrist, died later from his injuries.

Gillis said Kappler did not stop or slow down after hitting Mendelsohn and struck Deborah Brunet-Tuttle, 32, of Cambridge, who was carrying two bags of groceries 100 yards away.

Police found a blue 1987 Hyundai abandoned minutes after the accident about half a mile away. The car was traced to Kappler, but authorities were unable to locate him, Gillis said.

Kappler surfaced Sunday night in the psychiatric ward of a New York hospital. Authorities said they do not know how Kappler made his way to New York.

Jonathan Shapiro, a Boston attorney hired by Kappler’s family, said the incident was caused by an “acute episode of mental illness.”