Indian American Doctor Accused in Intentional Tesla Crash in California Barred From Practicing Medicine
- Dr. Dharmesh Patel, 41, was charged with three counts of attempted murder in connection with the Jan. 2 crash that involved his wife and two children.
The Medical Board of California has barred the Indian American radiologist from Southern California who was accused of intentionally driving his Tesla off a 330-foot cliff. The board made the move this week to ban Dr. Dharmesh Patel, “especially if he were released on bail,” The Mercury News reported.
Noting that debarring Patel was “necessary,” regulators argued that he represented “an alarming danger to the public” in light of an “impairment of cognitive abilities needed to safely practice medicine,” The Mercury News said. “Public protection, therefore, requires that Defendant be prohibited from practicing medicine throughout the pendency” of his criminal case, the medical board’s motion said.
The 41-year-old from Pasadena was charged with three counts of attempted murder in connection with the Jan. 2 crash that involved his 41-year-old wife and two children. He is held without bail in the San Mateo County jail since his arrest. He pleaded not guilty in February.
Patel is accused of driving his family off a cliff on Jan. 2 near Devil’s Slide along Highway 1, sending the car plunging 250 feet onto a rocky beach. Patel suffered injuries to his leg and foot, and his wife suffered more severe injuries. While their 4-year-old child escaped with only bruises, their 7-year-old child was more seriously injured. Both children were released from the hospital within a month of the crash.
Last month, documents unsealed in court revealed that Patel’s wife, Neha Patel, confirmed that her husband intentionally plunged the car with her and their children. The documents confirmed that Neha Patel told the police and rescue workers at least three times that her husband deliberately drove the car off the cliff. All four of them, however, miraculously survived the crash even as their car was badly mauled after rolling over several times.
According to a report an NBC news report, Patel’s wife also told a California Highway Patrol officer: “He drove off. He’s depressed. He’s a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He drove off on purpose.”
The arrest warrant affidavit said two witnesses reported the Tesla “accelerated” as it traveled toward the cliffside, and there was no evidence that the driver tried to brake before he plummeted off the cliff.
A nearby security camera which captured the moment the Tesla drove off the cliffside, showed the car taking a gradual right turn, plunging off the cliffside. There is no indication of attempts to brake or to turn the Tesla in a different direction,” according to the filing.
The unsealed documents also revealed what Dr. Patel said about the crash. “He claimed he had pulled over to check his tire pressure, which the Tesla indicated was low earlier that morning,” the affidavit said.