A DAD accused of trying to kill his whole family by driving a Tesla off a 250-foot cliff has had all charges against him dismissed.
Dharmesh Patel, 45, was charged with attempted murder after the horror crash that injured his wife and two young children.
The family’s car plunged off a cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway in San Mateo County, California, on January 2, 2023.
All four survived the drop in what one official called an “absolute miracle.”
A San Mateo County judge dismissed the charges Monday after Patel completed a two-year mental health diversion program, the Associated Press reported.
District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said a Stanford psychiatrist and a family therapist had treated Patel.
The judge was required under California law to throw out the charges once the program was completed, Wagstaffe said.
“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.
Prosecutors had charged Patel with three counts of attempted murder after the crash near Devil’s Slide.
His wife, Neha Patel, and their children, who were 4 and 7 at the time, were inside the car.
Patel was a radiologist in Los Angeles before the case.
His defense attorney argued he was suffering from episodic major depression with hallucinations when he drove off the cliff.
Two doctors previously testified that Patel believed his children would be trafficked, according to prosecutors.
A judge ruled in 2024 that Patel should receive mental health treatment instead of standing trial.
San Mateo prosecutors fought the diversion request but were unsuccessful.
Wagstaffe has argued that attempted murder cases should not qualify for mental health diversion in California.
He said prosecutors are working with lawmakers to change the law.
“We’ll try again in the future,” Wagstaffe said.
“We’re not giving up.”
Patel had been on a family road trip in the Bay Area when the Tesla went over the cliff.
The crash happened on Highway 1, south of the Tom Lantos Tunnel, along a dangerous stretch known for deadly wrecks.
Fire crews, helicopters, the Coast Guard, California Highway Patrol, and other agencies rushed to the scene.
Battalion Fire Chief Brian Pottenger, who responded to the crash, said at the time, “We go there all the time for cars over the cliff, and they never live.”
Investigators said the Tesla was not believed to have been in self-driving mode.
Road conditions were also not considered a factor in the crash.
Wagstaffe previously said Neha told emergency responders the crash was no accident.
“He intentionally tried to kill us,” she allegedly said after being rescued.
Wagstaffe told People at the time, “There were three people that we believe he was trying to kill.”
“He also wanted to kill himself, obviously. And so, that was an effort to be a murder-suicide.”
But Neha later urged the court to spare her husband from prison and allow him to return to the family while receiving treatment.
“We need him in our lives and it has been over a year and a half since my children or I have seen or spoken to Dharmesh,” she told a judge during a 2024 virtual hearing, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“We are not a family without him.”
Neha said she believed mental health treatment could help restore their family.
“The mental health treatment … will not only restore him back to himself, but will restore our family,” she said.
She also said Patel had “never had an episode” in the 25 years she had known him.
“Now that we understand and know he has a treatable condition, things will be different,” she said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“I want members of the court to know the health and safety of my family is of paramount importance.”
Patel was held in jail without bail until he was released in 2024 to complete outpatient treatment.
He moved in with his parents in San Mateo County and was monitored with a GPS bracelet.
He also had to surrender his driver’s license and passport and check in with the court every week.
Wagstaffe said Patel’s wife and children later moved to the San Francisco Bay Area.
The court eventually allowed him to spend time with his family and take them out on drives.
After the charges were dismissed Monday, Patel walked to the courtroom gallery where Neha was waiting, the Mercury News reported.
The couple then left the building together.
Months after Patel’s arrest, the Medical Board of California barred him from practicing medicine while he faced the attempted murder charges.
The board said Tuesday that Patel surrendered his California medical license in December.
