Doctor Who Drove Car Off California Cliff With His Family Inside Found Eligible for Mental Health Diversion Program
- A San Mateo Superior Court ruled that Dharmesh Patel’s mental health condition, major depressive disorder, played a significant role in his crime.
Indian American radiologist Dharmesh Patel, who drove his Tesla off a cliff in California’s Bay Area, is eligible for a mental health diversion program, instead of jail time, a San Mateo Superior Court judge ruled today (June 20). His attorneys argued that the 42-year-old was suffering from a mental health episode when he drove the family Tesla off the highway in January 2023, sending the car plunging 250 feet onto a rocky beach. Patel, his wife and two young children survived. He was arrested and charged with three counts of attempted murder.
His “mental health condition, major depressive disorder, played a significant role in his crime” the judge rules, the Chronicle said. He “committed to his psychiatric care and doesn’t have a history of violence, “ the judge added.
Although Patel’s wife Neha admitted that her husband intentionally plunged the car with her and their children, she she didn’t want him to stand trial and had been hoping the judge would place him in mental health treatment instead. She reportedly begged prosecutors to drop attempted murder charges against her husband, insisting he needs mental health treatment, not prison time, following the shocking January 2023 incident.
“We need him in our lives,” Neha Patel told the judge through tears, according to news reports. She described her husband as her “best friend” and said their children have been devastated by his prolonged absence, with their young son asking “When’s Daddy coming home?”
A psychologist had also testified that Patel suffered a psychotic episode fueled by delusional fears about his children being harmed amid issues like the fentanyl crisis.
Prosecutors, however, had questioned Patel’s “mental history, arguing the crash was an intentional act of attempted murder-suicide because he felt the world was caving in due to global issues such as war, the fentanyl crisis and child sex trafficking,” the Chronicle reported.
If Patel successfully completes the two-year mental health program, prosecutors will have to dismiss the charges against him. However, he will remain behind bars until at least July 1, his next court hearing.
Once released, he will have “to live with his parents in Belmont, check in with the court weekly and maintain his mental health treatment,” the Chronicle said. Prosecutors asked for additional restrictions for Patel, including “a longer period of monitoring,” and also add Patel to “the state’s Armed and Prohibited Persons database, a register of Californians who cannot legally own firearms,” the Chronicle said.