Tragic death a major loss to medical community

The recent death of one of P.E.I.'s most respected physicians ended in controversy that has forever tarnished the image of Dr. Donald Taylor.
The death came only hours after he was charged with a serious breach of his medical ethics which won't be printed in this publication. He had been called in to work later than usual that evening at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and, according to media reports, died early the next morning on his way home after his vehicle left the road and struck an overpass on the Charlottetown by-pass highway on the Kensington Road. This automatically erased the charges against him but will always leaves people wondering what happened.
Those who knew him well, knew he was as classy as they came and feel the only breach of ethics came from the media, by putting the charges against him up for public speculation. At the same time those Islanders who knew of him and his professional reputation were left feeling confused and outraged .
It's a crime in itself that this story was broadcast. With no factual basis it destroyed the reputation Taylor attained throughout his many years of serving thousands of patients.
It's a journalist's job to get the story as soon as possible and get it to the editor who decides on whether to go forward with the story or not. It's awful how one reporter's slant can poison the public's mind and how one editor's decision can humiliate a family and puts them through more of an ordeal than the death, with no chance for public exoneration.
As distasteful as this might sound so far there are other ways to explain what might have happened but nonetheless this story should have never appeared in any media until a police report was finalized. The answer to this journalistic mess is now buried with Taylor and the public will probably never be certain what happened and should have never had the chance to so soon after this tragedy.
False accusations in the past directed at dignified members of society have scarred them and their families, but they have been given the chance to clear their name over time.
Unfortunately, the final memories of this man will remain obscured since he died with no chance to defend himself. Did a guilty man die in the midst of a scandal or did an innocent man die in the midst of another attempt at bringing down the reputation of another? If this case was false then the motives of the accuser also have to be taken into consideration.
Whatever the police report and the chief coroner decide, the memory of Taylor will remain true in the lives of those he has touched. He will be missed by the hundreds of patients he leaves behind. It's a pity that he died before he was able to defend himself and it will always be unfair for those of us who really didn't want to know or even need to know what we all do now.
JRG