What to Know
A California physician was driving a Tesla on January 2, 2023, when the car plunged more than 250 feet off a cliff. When emergency responders arrived on the scene, they found Dharmesh A. Patel and his wife, Neha, both 41, along with their 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son. At first, investigators were unsure of what to think. The crash occurred on Devil’s Slide, a notoriously dangerous spot on the Pacific Coast Highway. Miraculously, all four occupants survived the horrific crash.
Witnesses and Neha Patel alleged Dharmesh Patel intentionally drove over the cliff trying to kill his family. Police arrested him and charged him with attempted murder. Three and a half years later, a judge dismissed the charges.
Dharmesh Patel reportedly completed mental health treatment.
According to the Associated Press, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe confirmed Dharmesh Patel completed a two-year mental health diversion program with a Stanford University psychiatrist. In 2024, a judge ruled Patel would receive mental health treatment instead of standing trial for attempted murder. His attorneys successfully argued he was going through a major depressive episode the day he drove over the cliff, which qualified him for mental health diversion under a 2023 California Law.
Prosecutors opposed mental health diversion for Dharmesh Patel.
Per a statement obtained by People, Wagstaffe explained that the judge had to dismiss the charges against Dharmesh Patel.
“It was not a choice she made to dismiss or not dismiss the charges. My prosecutor did not object for the same reason,” he explained.
Wagstaffe added that in his mind, attempted murderers need to face consequences behind bars, not mental health treatment.
“There are certain crimes that are not eligible for mental health diversion such as murder, rape or other sexual assault, child molestation and human trafficking, but our Legislature has twice refused the request of the California DA’s Association to include attempted murder on the list of excluded crime,” he explained
“In our view, if a defendant intentionally decided that he wanted to kill another human being and tried to do so, they should not be able to avoid accountability and avoid justice,” Wagstaffe noted “But that is not the law, and Mr. Patel was entitled to the dismissal.”
Dharmesh Patel’s wife forgave her husband.
@cees_evryting 2026 Dharmesh Patel case update: A San Mateo County judge has officially dismissed all charges against Dr. Dharmesh Patel after he completed a two year court ordered mental health diversion program. Patel was accused of intentionally driving his wife and two children off a 250 foot cliff in California in 2023. He and His family survived the crash, and throughout the case, his wife publicly supported him, telling the court she believed his actions stemmed from a severe mental health crisis and that she had forgiven him. With the charges now dismissed, his record sealed, and his passport returned, the case has reignited debate over California’s mental health diversion laws. . . . #truecrime #crimetok #dharmeshpatel #california #crime ♬ original sound – ✨CeesEvryting✨
The New York Post reported at the time of the crash, Dharmesh Patel feared many things including the nation’s fentanyl crisis, the war in Ukraine, and his children’s well bring. During a video appearance not long after his arrest, Neha Patel told the court her family was incomplete without her husband, and they all wanted him back with them.
“Seeing my kids in emotional pain is one of the hardest things I’ve had to endure,” she told the court per The Post. She added that mental health treatment would “not only will restore him back to himself, but it will restore the health and wellness of our entire family.”
The Mercury News reported that after the judge dismissed the charges, Dharmesh Patel embraced his wife and the pair walked out of the courtroom together. The former Los Angeles radiologist can no longer practice medicine.
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