Pasadena doctor who drove family off cliff has charges of attempted murder dismissed
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Set us as preferred Dharmesh Patel was a respected radiologist who appeared to live an idyllic family life in a peaceful Pasadena cul-de-sac.Then in 2023, he drove his Tesla, carrying his wife and two children, off a 250-foot cliff in Northern California in an attempt to kill them all, prosecutors alleged.
Multiple psychologists diagnosed him with major depressive disorder after the crash, and in 2024 his defense attorney convinced a San Mateo County Superior Court to grant him entry to a mental health diversion program in lieu of continuing to pursue criminal charges against him.On Monday, the three attempted murder charges filed against Patel, who is now 45, were dismissed as he had complied with all terms of the two-year program while living with his parents in Belmont, according to the San Mateo County district attorney’s office.
The fact that Patel has no criminal record and is not required to be on probation stings for San Mateo County Dist.Atty.
Stephen Wagstaffe, whose office had opposed the diversion of the case.California Citing a series of violent crimes that followed criminal defendants being spared of convictions due to diagnosed mental illnesses, state lawmakers have pushed forward legislation backed by California prosecutors to limit who can qualify.“We felt that the crime was way too serious, and allowing diversion for somebody who had, with premeditation and deliberation, planned to kill his two small children and his wife, as well as himself, was not good for public safety,” Wagstaffe told The Times on Tuesday.
Emergency responders said it was miraculous that Patel, his wife, Neha, and their son and daughter, who were 4 and 7 years old at the time, all survived the January 2023 crash, when he drove off an area of Pacific Coast Highway known as Devil’s Slide.Neha told paramedics that her husband ha...