Doctor Arrested for Alleged Car Assault

A Torrance Memorial Medical Center doctor has been accused of deliberately striking a motorcyclist with his car and then battling with police officers when they arrived to arrest him at his Rolling Hills Estates home.

Marc L. Platt, 43, was booked Saturday on suspicion of drunk driving, assault with a deadly weapon, battery on a police officer and resisting arrest, Torrance Police Detective Jim Cook said.

Platt, who was freed on $5,000 bail, did not return telephone calls seeking comment. His attorney declined comment on the case.

David Willison, 39, of Redondo Beach told police that Platt, driving a 1991 Honda Accord, tailgated him and then cut him off several times as Willison rode his motorcycle northbound on Pacific Coast Highway about 4 p.m. Saturday.

Willison told police that when Platt stopped at a red light in a left-turn pocket at Palos Verdes Drive, Willison tapped on the car’s window and asked, “What’s the matter with you?”

Instead of responding, witnesses said, Platt put his car in reverse and turned it to broadside Willison on the motorcycle, dragging both several feet. He then shifted into forward, running over and breaking one of Willison’s legs, before fleeing the scene.

Because Platt’s car carried the vanity license plate “HISBNDL,” Willison remembered the plate and reported it to police who responded to the crash, Cook said.

When police arrived at the doctor’s Rolling Hills Estates home about 30 minutes later, Cook said, Platt struggled briefly with one officer before he was handcuffed.