All prices against a radiologist accused of attempting to kill his family in 2023 by driving his car off a cliff alongside the Northern California coast have been dismissed by a decide following his completion of a psychological well being program.
Prosecutors charged Dharmesh Patel, 45, with tried homicide after he drove his Tesla off a 250-foot cliff alongside the Pacific Coast Highway in San Mateo County, injuring his spouse and two younger kids. All four survived the Jan. 2, 2023, crash in what one official referred to as an “absolute miracle.”
A San Mateo County decide dismissed the fees on Monday after Patel accomplished a two-year psychological well being diversion program with a Stanford psychiatrist and a family therapist this week, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe mentioned.
“The judge was required by the law to dismiss the charges,” Wagstaffe mentioned.
In 2024, a unique decide dominated Patel would obtain psychological well being therapy as an alternative of standing trial after his protection attorneys argued he was going via episodic main melancholy with hallucinations when he drove his family off the cliff and certified for psychological well being diversion underneath California law that went into impact in 2023.
“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 mentioned.
San Mateo prosecutors unsuccessfully opposed diversion for Patel.
Wagstaffe and different California district attorneys have argued that tried homicide ought to be excluded from eligibility for psychological well being diversion, they usually’re working with lawmakers to amend the legislation.
“We’ll try again in the future,” he mentioned in regards to the legislation. “We’re not giving up.”
Patel’s lawyer, Joshua Bentley, didn’t instantly returned a message Tuesday searching for remark.
Patel, of Pasadena, was on a family street journey within the Bay Area on the time of the crash. He advised a psychiatrist after his arrest that he was depressed and had delusions that his kids, ages 4 and seven on the time, can be trafficked by kidnappers, Wagstaffe mentioned.
Patel was in jail with out bail till he was launched in 2024 to finish a psychological well being outpatient therapy program. He then moved in along with his dad and mom in San Mateo County and was monitored via a GPS bracelet. He needed to give up his driver’s license and passport, and needed to examine with the court docket weekly.
Wagstaffe mentioned Patel’s spouse and youngsters additionally moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and the court docket finally allowed him to spend time along with his family and take them out on drives.
Patel’s spouse testified that she had forgiven her husband and didn’t need him to be prosecuted. She mentioned her kids missed their father they usually needed him again dwelling.
After the fees had been dismissed Monday, Patel walked to the courtroom gallery the place his spouse was ready and the 2 left the constructing collectively, the Mercury News reported.
Months after his arrest, the Medical Board of California barred Patel from training drugs whereas he confronted tried homicide prices. The board mentioned Tuesday that Patel surrendered his California medical license in December.