A doctor in Pasadena drove a family off a cliff; charges of attempted murder were dropped
Dharmesh Patel was a respected radiologist who seemed to be living a peaceful family life in a Pasadena cul-de-sac.
Then in 2023, he drove his Tesla, carrying his wife and two children, off a 250-foot cliff in Northern California in an attempt to kill them all, prosecutors said.
Multiple psychologists diagnosed him with major depressive disorder after the accident, and in 2024 his attorney convinced the San Mateo County Superior Court to allow him to enter a mental health diversion program instead of continuing the charges against him.
On Monday, three counts of attempted murder against Patel, now 45, were dismissed after he followed all the terms of a two-year program while living with his parents in Belmont, according to the San Mateo County district attorney’s office.
The fact that Patel has no criminal record and is not required to be in the San Mateo County Dist. He said. Stephen Wagstaffe, whose office opposed the diversion of the case.
“We felt that the crime was very serious, and to allow the diversion of someone who planned to kill his two young children and his wife, as well as himself, did not plan for public safety,” Wagstaffe told The Times on Tuesday.
Paramedics said it was a miracle that Patel, his wife, Neha, and their son and daughter, who were four and seven years old at the time, all survived the January 2023 crash, while driving on the Pacific Coast Highway known as the Devil’s Slide. Neha told the emergency services that her husband tried to kill the family on purpose.
Investigators are looking into the wreckage of a Tesla that crashed off a cliff in northern California in January 2023.
(Sgt. Brian Moore / San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office)
The court’s decision to dismiss the charges Monday was automatic as Patel had followed all the requirements of his diversion program, which included regular appointments with a psychiatrist and family doctor and regular visits to the court to provide updates on the progress of his treatment, Wagstaffe explained.
“He complied with the conditions,” Wagstaffe said. “There was no basis for the prosecutor to argue one way or another and refuse.”
Patel was incarcerated from the crash in January 2023 until he was admitted to a mental health diversion program in August 2024.
In 2024, doctors testified that Patel was having a mental breakdown due to major depression when he made a sudden right turn and fell off a cliff. Wagstaffe previously told The Times that Patel was shocked by the state of the world and worried that her children were being trafficked for sex.
Before the accident, Patel worked as a radiologist at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills.
In the months following the incident, the California Medical Board obtained a court order that prohibited him from using medication while he was facing charges of attempted murder. Then, in November, Patel signed a letter surrendering his medical license, after the board ruled that he acted improperly by intentionally harming his family.
The board did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday about whether Patel will be eligible to apply for a license now that the charges against him have been dropped.
California established a mental health program in 2018 to prioritize treatment over punishment for deserving defendants whose mental illness has contributed to their crimes. Certain serious crimes – such as murder, rape and sexual assault of a child under 14 – are not eligible for interference.
Since then, opposition to the program has grown, as critics point to examples of people entering the show and committing more serious crimes.
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 46 into law, which strengthens the laws on diversion by giving judges greater power to deny diversion requests when they believe the defendant poses a threat to public safety.
The original draft of AB 46 proposed that attempted murder charges could be included in the diversion program, but this language was removed during revisions.
Wagstaffe said Tuesday that he found it difficult to understand that if the accident killed anyone, Patel would be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for murder. But instead, Patel is walking free after spending two years living with his parents and participating in therapy.
“Wow, boy, you got a break,” Wagstaffe said. “I hope you will use it.”
Times staff writers James Queally and Noah Goldberg contributed to this report.
