A California doctor who allegedly drove his family over a cliff intentionally on January 2 has been charged with three counts of attempted murder. When the crash occurred, Dharmesh A. Patel, 41, was driving a Tesla with his wife, Neha Patel, 41, and two children inside, a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy. Miraculously, the family all survived the horrific crash.
The crash occurred on Devil's Slide, a notoriously dangerous part of the Pacific Coast Highway in San Mateo. The area is known for wrecks because there are no guardrails, but Neha Patel told rescuers it was no accident.
The car took a tremendous fall off the highway.
According to Brian Pottenger, a battalion chief for the Coastside Fire Protection District/Cal Fire, the car dropped at least 250 feet off the cliff, and emergency personnel were prepared for a recovery mission, confident no one could have survived the crash. But the adults were conscious when they arrived at the vehicle.
Neha Patel's statement to paramedics led to the charges against her husband.
When rescuers got to Neha Patel, she told them that Dharmesh Patel drove the car over the cliff on purpose, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"He intentionally tried to kill us," Neha Patel reportedly told paramedics, San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe told the Times on Monday. "She said very simply this was not an accident," he commented.
Authorities found additional damning evidence against Dharmesh Patel.
The Times reported that prosecutors also obtained security footage from a tunnel near the crash site. According to Wagstaffe, the video captures Dharmesh Patel "making a sharp right turn over the cliff."
Interviews with witnesses apparently corroborated the story. Wagstaffe confirmed that witnesses said did not see any brake lights come on for the Tesla.
Dharmesh Patel was promptly arrested.
Dharmesh Patel was put in police custody at the hospital following the crash on January 2 and did not resist arrest. At the time he was in custody on suspicion of attempted murder and child endangerment.
This week, the Times reported that prosecutors waited until Dharmesh Patel was released from the hospital on Monday to formally charge him with attempted murder with enhancements. Prosecutors also noted that they had not spoken to Neha Patel but had enough evidence to charge him without a formal statement from her.
If convicted, he could reportedly be sentenced to life in prison, per ABC 7 News. He is being held without bail.
The crash and subsequent arrest of Dharmesh Patel came as a shock to neighbors.
"Really I can't believe it," said neighbor Sarah Walker. "No one can believe it. They felt like newlyweds. The way they interact and look at each other, it just felt like they should be together," the Times reported.
Commenters on a Times Facebook post expressed differing opinions.
"He might still be a great guy nothing has been proven he was charged mid life crisis age 40 to 45 people.go crazy," one person wrote.
"I guess he wasn't counting on none of them surviving," another person wrote.
He is being held without bail.
"A San Mateo judge on Monday reportedly granted a request to hold Patel without bail at the Maguire Correctional Facility, citing the danger he poses to his family," according to San Francisco Chronicle reporter Matthais Gafni via Fox News.
Fox News also reported that he was scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon but his attorney asked for an extension, which was granted, Gafni said.
Neha Patel and the couple's children have been released from the hospital. There was no update on their condition.
