California doc who drove family off cliff sent to mental health program that could lead to him being freed
The California doctor accused of driving his wife and two kids off a cliff in a terrifying murder-suicide attempt is set to be released into a mental health diversion program that could see the charges against him dropped.
Dharmesh Patel, 43, was granted admission into the two-year psychiatric program during a hearing in San Mateo court Thursday and could be sprung from prison as early as this summer.
The radiologist appeared “by all accounts a kind and loving” father, Judge Susan Jakubowski said, adding that he would be better served in treatment than in jail, the Mercury News reported.
After the ruling Thursday, Patel’s family were seen embracing with happiness, as they asked he be treated and not jailed.
“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,” his wife, Neha, said, adding their son had been asking “When’s Daddy coming home?”
Patel has spent the last 18 months behind bars after he allegedly drove his wife and two young kids off a cliffside road known as the Devil’s Slide while suffering from a supposed psychotic break on January 2, 2023.
He, his wife, and their then 7-year-old daughter suffered severe injuries, while their then 4-year-old son suffered minor injuries.
The incident landed Patel with three attempted murder charges — but in May, Neha begged the court to allow him admission into the diversion program, saying they were “not a family without him.”
The diversion program would see Patel released to live with his parents while he enrolls in a two-year treatment with the Stanford University psychiatric fellowship, according to Mercury News.
During that time he would be barred from contacting his wife or kids, or from practicing medicine.
Should Patel complete the two-year program, all charges against him would be dropped.
“He wants to continue psychiatric treatment,” Judge Jakubowski said. “The court believes he now realized the importance of being forthright.”
Patel initially plead not-guilty to his charges, claiming the Tesla experienced a malfunction and sent his family careening off the cliff.
But his wife told investigators he’d been suffering depression prior to the incident and intentionally wrecked the car, while psychologists later testified Patel had been suffering from delusions that his kids were going to be kidnapped into a sex-trafficking ring tied to Jeffrey Epstein.
The exact cause of his psychosis remains unknown.
Clinicians have offered diagnoses ranging from major depression disorders to schizophrenia, but the court ultimately ruled whatever he suffered from was enough to qualify him for the diversion program.
The program was introduced in 2018 for defendants whose crimes may have been driven by treatable mental illness. Felonies like murder to not qualify for the program, but Patel’s attempted murder charges do.
He is due in court on July 1 for the final ruling on his release and will remain behind bars until then.
