Wife Doesn’t Want Radiologist Husband Prosecuted for Attempted Murder in Tesla Crash Off California Cliff
- Neha Patel told the police that Dharmesh Arvind Patel had intentionally tried to kill her and their two kids — ages 4 and 7.
The wife of the Indian American radiologist Dharmesh Arvind Patel, accused of intentionally driving a Tesla carrying his wife and two young children off a 250-foot seaside cliff in California last month, doesn’t want him prosecuted. The revelation was made on Feb. 9 by Patel’s lawyer Josh Bentley in a court in Redwood City when his client pleaded not guilty.
Patel, 41, of Pasadena, who works at the Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles, was charged with three counts of attempted murder in connection with the Jan. 2 crash. Two of the counts have enhancements of domestic violence, great bodily injury, serious felony, and prior felony, The Mercury News reported, citing the San Mateo County Superior Court.
Although she reportedly told the cops after the Jan. 2 incident that her husband intentionally tried to kill her and their two kids — ages 4 and 7 — Bentley told the court that Neha Patel is standing by her husband’s side to get him out without jail time, as reported by NBC-TV affiliate KNTV.
After Bentley “shook the court,” San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Sean Gallagher said prosecutors plan to move ahead with the case, according to the KNTV report. “Regardless of whether she is cooperative, we believe we have sufficient evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. He added that Neha Patel’s behavior of declining to cooperate with the police is common in cases of domestic violence. It is a “very dynamic situation whenever you have this violence within a family setting.”