California doctor who drove Tesla off cliff with family inside won’t face trial, is granted mental health diversion
The “suicidal” California doctor accused of intentionally driving his Tesla off a cliff with his wife and two young children inside won’t face trial for attempted murder as he is instead set to begin a mental health diversion program.
Dharmesh Patel, who was granted admission into the two-year program last Thursday at the San Mateo County Court, will remain in jail for “several weeks” before he’s released, the San Mateo district attorney told NBC News.
The radiologist, who has spent the last 18 months behind bars, will be released from jail to his parents’ home, which he will be ordered not to leave.
He will also have to report to court weekly for a progress report.
Patel will be ordered to be tested twice a week “to show medication compliance,” and will have to abstain from drugs and alcohol while also forfeiting his driver’s license and passport, the outlet reported.
The doctor will return to court on July 1, when details of his release will be determined, a spokesperson for District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe told NBC News.
Judge Susan Jakubowski granted Patel admission to the program while the DA’s office “intensely” opposed it.
The radiologist appeared “by all accounts a kind and loving” father, said Jakubowski on Thursday, adding that Patel would be better served in treatment than in jail, the Mercury News reported.
Last week’s ruling was made after evidence was found showing Patel has major depressive disorder.
In April two doctors testified in court that Patel suffered from “major depressive order” and experienced a “psychotic” break during the attempted murder-suicide on Jan. 2, 2023.
The Tesla Model Y plummeted off the 250-foot cliff off “Devil’s Slide” on Highway 1 and landed on the shore of the Pacific Ocean.
Miraculously, Patel, his wife and their two children — a 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son — all survived.
Patel was arrested and later charged with three counts of attempted murder. He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, saying the Tesla experienced a malfunction, causing the car to careen off the cliff.
His wife, Neha, later told investigators her husband had suffered from depression before the crash.
“He’s depressed. He’s a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposefully drove off,” Neha told rescuers.
During his testimony, psychologist Mark Patterson said Patel’s delusions were provoked by the nation’s fentanyl crisis, the war in Ukraine and fears that his children could be kidnapped and molested, which appeared to have been connected to Patel’s worries about accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
In May, Neha Patel begged prosecutors to drop the charges and admit her husband into the program.
“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 said.
The doctor was deemed a good candidate for the program because he’s at low risk of injuring anyone else and has shown progress with his treatment since the crash, Patterson said.
