An air ambulance employee accused of stealing and leaking injured Formula 1 racing legend Michael Schumacher’s medical records has been found dead.
The man, whose identity was never revealed, was found hanged in his cell at a Zurich police station on Wednesday (August 6), a day after his arrest. Police say nobody else was involved.
In June, the Rega air ambulance service was used to transport Schumacher from the French hospital that administered emergency treatment following his December skiing accident to a hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland; closer to the seven-time world champion’s home. A week later, Schumacher’s manager said medical documents purported to be Schumacher’s were being offered for sale to some media. Swiss prosecutors opened an investigation into suspected violation of professional secrecy after Rega and Schumacher’s family filed criminal complaints.
The investigation led prosecutors to the Rega employee, who was arrested on Tuesday. He denied wrongdoing in questioning by police, and prosecutors had planned to question him further. Prosecutors say they currently have no further suspects and are now likely to close the case.
“This tragic event leaves us sad and speechless,” Rega chief executive Ernst Kohler said, adding that the company is offering support to the man’s relatives. Rega has said it organized Schumacher’s transfer to Lausanne and, as part of that, was given a medical report by the Grenoble hospital where he had been treated since his accident.
Schumacher’s accident happened on a family vacation as he was skiing with his 14-year-old son at the Meribel ski resort in the French Alps. He hit the right side of his head on a rock, cracking his helmet. Doctors operated to remove blood clots from his brain, but some were left because they were too deeply embedded. Schumacher’s condition stabilized after he was placed in a drug-induced coma, from which he has since emerged.
