The wife of a California doctor who drove her and his children off a cliff in a botched murder-suicide attempt has begged prosecutors to drop charges.
Dharmesh Patel’s wife spoke in court for the first time since the Jan. 2, 2023, incident in which her husband deliberately drove off a huge cliff on the Pacific Coast Highway south of San Francisco and fell from the abyss.
His wife was in the car with his then four-year-old son and then seven-year-old daughter. They miraculously survived the crash, but were seriously injured.
She urged prosecutors on Thursday to drop criminal charges against her husband and asked for her husband’s release on the condition that he enter a mental health diversion program.
“We need him in our lives,” Patel’s wife told the court Thursday, before blaming the crash on “a mental health episode beyond our understanding or control.” The Mercury News reported.
Neha Patel (pictured) urged prosecutors to drop criminal charges against her husband, who drove her and his children off a cliff on January 2, 2023, in a failed murder-suicide bid.
Patel’s wife blamed the crash on “a mental health episode that is beyond comprehension.” Dharmesh Patel (pictured in February 2023) stands in an orange jumpsuit in a San Mateo County courtroom
Patel’s wife said his return will not only “restore him back to himself, but also restore the health and well-being of our entire family.”
She also promised that “things will be different” if her husband is allowed to return home to their family.
Patel’s wife said his return will not only “restore him back to himself, but also restore the health and well-being of our entire family.”
She stressed the importance of her family’s “health and safety” and said she “will not hesitate to seek help if necessary.”
“We need him in our lives,” Patel’s wife added. “We’re not family without him.”
If the plan is approved, Patel’s care would be in the hands of Stanford psychiatric doctor James Armontrout.
Medical treatment includes group and individual therapy sessions, as well as sessions with a psychotherapist.
But San Mateo County prosecutors oppose the request and have filed motions against it.
The Pasadena radiologist’s children, then aged four and seven, and his wife Neha Patel, 41, were in the car and an official said it was an “absolute miracle” that they made it out alive.
Dharmesh Patel, 42, accused of purposefully driving his Tesla off a 250-foot Devil Slide cliff, thought he was protecting his family, psychologist testified
Patel’s wife said, expressing the impact of her husband’s absence from her and her children, her son wonders why it is “taking so long” for her father’s return.
“He wished Dad would magically appear on St. Patrick’s Day when he saw a rainbow,” she said. “Seeing my children in emotional pain is one of the hardest things I have had to endure.”
She called him a “kind and altruistic” man and said Patel “has been my best friend for over 25 years.”
In April, it was reported that despite Neha’s insistence that her husband had deliberately driven their family off a cliff, Patel’s lawyer said she did not want her husband to be prosecuted.
The lawyer’s statements were dismissed by Wagstaffe, who said Neha’s statements after the crash supported the attempted murder charges.
“She said very simply that this was not an accident. We believe the evidence demonstrates the necessary intent to kill,” Wagstaffe told the San Francisco Chronicle.
The wreckage of the Tesla is depicted at the bottom of the cliff
Court records show Neha, 41, told a California Highway Patrol officer, “He’s a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He drove away on purpose.’
Witnesses backed up that story, saying they did not see the car trying to stop as it flew off the cliff and onto a rocky beach.
Patel survived with only minor injuries to his leg and foot, while Neha suffered more serious injuries from the crash.
The couple’s seven-year-old child was seriously injured and their four-year-old escaped with only bruises. Both children were released from the hospital within weeks.
The radiologist had initially claimed he was not at fault and that his Tesla had tire failure on the day of the crash.
He said he stopped three times at gas stations to pump air into the tires and the tire pressure light came on just before they went off the cliff.
In June last year, the doctor was banned from practicing medicine after being called “an alarming danger to the public” by the medical board.
In June last year, the doctor was banned from practicing medicine after being called “an alarming danger to the public” by the medical board.
Regulators argued that the ban was necessary because Patel had an “impairment in the cognitive skills necessary to practice medicine safely.”
In a statement to the Mercury News, the medical board said Patel could not practice “under any circumstances” while the case was still open.
“The ban on practicing medicine will remain in effect until the order is modified by the court or the criminal case against him is concluded,” the statement said.
Expert witness called by Patel’s attorney, Dr. Mark Patterson, told the court that Patel, 42, suffered a psychotic episode and feared his two children were being trafficked for sex before the incident.
“It was paranoid and a kind of delusion that he acted on at the time to protect his family from a worse fate,” Patterson told the court.
‘He was concerned that his children were at risk of being kidnapped, possibly for sexual abuse. … There were concerns about the explosion of fentanyl in this country and the war in Ukraine.”
Patel, who remains in Redwood City Jail, pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder.
Patterson After meeting him twelve times, Patel was diagnosed with major depressive disorder with a single episode of psychotic features and anxiety.
The psychologist said Patel’s psychosis peaked in the days before the car crash, adding that he had heard footsteps and thought he was being followed.
Patterson said he believed the 42-year-old was eligible for treatment under the Mental Health Diversion Act. He said: ‘I see him as someone who is highly motivated and amenable to treatment.
He stopped having delusions when he was held without bail in the San Mateo County Jail, Patterson testified, adding, “he still feels a lot of remorse.”