A radiologist accused of attempting to kill his family by driving their car off a 250-foot cliff along the Northern California coast has had all charges against him dismissed by a judge, following his completion of a mental health program.
Dharmesh Patel, 45, was charged with attempted murder after the Jan. 2, 2023 incident, which saw his Tesla plunge from the Pacific Coast Highway in San Mateo County. All four occupants – Patel, his wife, and their two young children – miraculously survived the crash, as one official described it.
A San Mateo County judge dismissed the charges on Monday after Patel completed a two-year mental health diversion program this week, which included treatment with a Stanford psychiatrist and a family therapist. San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe confirmed the dismissal, stating, “The judge was required by the law to dismiss the charges.”
In 2024, a different judge ruled that Patel would receive mental health treatment instead of facing trial. His defense attorneys successfully argued that he was experiencing episodic major depression with hallucinations when the incident occurred, qualifying him for mental health diversion under a California law enacted in 2023.
District Attorney Wagstaffe, whose office unsuccessfully opposed diversion for Patel, expressed frustration with the outcome.
“If the person who’s given mental health diversion follows the treatment plan, there’s nothing that can be done and at the end of the two years he gets it wiped out of his record,” Wagstaffe said.
He and other California district attorneys are advocating for amendments to the law to exclude attempted murder from eligibility for mental health diversion.
“We’ll try again in the future,” he said about the law. “We’re not giving up.”
Patel, from Pasadena, was on a family road trip when the crash occurred. After his arrest, he told a psychiatrist he was depressed and harbored delusions that his children, then ages 4 and 7, would be trafficked by kidnappers, according to Wagstaffe.
Patel was initially held without bail but was released in 2024 to complete an outpatient mental health treatment program.
He subsequently moved in with his parents in San Mateo County, where he was monitored via a GPS bracelet.
He was required to surrender his driver’s license and passport and check in with the court weekly. Wagstaffe noted that Patel’s wife and children also relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, and the court eventually permitted him to spend time with his family and take them on drives.
Patel’s wife testified that she had forgiven her husband and did not wish for him to be prosecuted, stating that their children missed their father and wanted him home.
After the charges were dismissed on Monday, Patel reportedly walked to the courtroom gallery where his wife was waiting, and they left the building together.
Months after his arrest, the Medical Board of California barred Patel from practicing medicine while he faced attempted murder charges. The board confirmed on Tuesday that Patel surrendered his California medical license in December.
