Trial date set for Des Plaines man in father's death

A Des Plaines man accused of killing his father when he slammed his SUV into the side of his father's car will stand trial starting Feb. 20.

That date was set Tuesday.

The fate of 29-year-old Ravi Kumar will be decided in a bench trial before Cook County Judge Garritt E. Howard in Skokie, attorneys said.

Kumar, of the 1000 block of Carlow Drive, is accused of intentionally driving his 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee into the driver's side of his dad's car in the wee hours of July 9, 2006 -- killing Rajinder Kumar, 54, a block away from the home they shared in Des Plaines.

Prosecutors have said the deadly crash came moments after Kumar had forced his way into his father's bedroom and begun choking him. His father had fled in his car.

Two separate exams have shown Kumar was insane at the time of the offense, his defense attorneys say.

Kumar's family members -- who have stood by him, routinely attending his court dates -- has said he suffers from schizoaffective disorder and was on medication at the time.

Kumar remains in jail.