Court Doc: Suicidal Father Had Violent History

Sunil Sambhi drank an "extensive and extreme amount."

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    Newly obtained court documents may reveal why an Alpine father drove head-on into another car after finding out he lost his only child.

    Thursday morning, Natalie Sambhi lost control of her truck in Alpine.  Her 17-year-old son, Dev, was not wearing his seat belt.  He flew through the windshield and died.

    Just six hours later, Dev's father, Sunil, drove the wrong way on the eastbound Interstate 8, slamming head-on into another car. Court records may shed new light on why Sunil killed himself, on his 48th birthday.

    Sambhi confided to a psychologist that "a separation from his son would be intolerable for him... and would be the most hurtful thing."

    Sunil was arrested in February, charged with two felony counts of making a criminal threat with a firearm.

    The victims of that crime were his son and his wife.

    Sambhi admitted pointing a shotgun at them because he was drunk and angry when they returned home late.

    Sambhi also admitted an "extensive history of alcohol abuse and dependence" and that he drank an “extensive and extreme amount,” so much that it caused emotional and physical problems.

    The judge sentenced him to three years of probation and intensive treatment for his alcohol problem. He was ordered not to have contact with his son or wife for those three years.