The wife of Dharmesh Patel — who was sitting next to him when the Pasadena radiologist allegedly plunged the family’s’ Tesla off a 250-foot cliff near Devil’s Slide last year — pleaded in court Thursday for her husband to be released from jail and sent home under a mental health diversion program.
The wife, who did not give her name, implored prosecutors to drop the criminal charges against Patel, who is accused of trying to kill his family in January 2023 by driving them into the Pacific Ocean near Half Moon Bay.
Patel faces three charges of attempted murder, one each for allegedly trying to kill his wife and two children, ages 9 and 5.
His attorneys have asked a San Mateo County Superior Court judge to grant him entry into a mental health diversion program that would lead to all of the charges against him being dropped, if he successfully completes a two-year treatment program.
On Thursday, Patel’s wife spoke for the first time in court since the Jan. 2, 2023 crash, which left her hospitalized with serious injuries.
Her voice often cracking, she blamed the crash that day on “a mental health episode beyond any of our understanding or control,” and said “things will be different” he he’s allowed to return home to their family.
“We need — we need him in our life,” said Patel’s wife, who did not give her name and addressed to the courtroom via a video call. “We’re not a family without him.”
She emphasized Thursday that she “will not hesitate to seek help when needed” under the plan, which relies, in part, on Patel’s family to report any signs of further mental instability to the court.
“The health and safety of my family is of paramount importance,” Patel’s wife said.
She also spoke at length about the impact that Patel’s absence has had on their family, while he faces charges and is held in a San Mateo County jail without bail. Noting that Friday is the couple’s 16th wedding anniversary, she called him a “kind and altruistic” man who “has been my best friend for more than 25 years.” She recalled how he bought dinner for his colleagues, and poinsettias for neighbors during the winter holidays.
Her children also badly want their father to return home, she said. Her daughter didn’t want anything for Christmas, and has often been found crying at night over her father’s absence, while clutching a stuffed sea turtle she got during their last trip to an aquarium. Meanwhile, her son has always asked why it’s “taking so long” for his dad to return home.
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“He wished daddy would magically appear on St. Patrick’s Day when he saw a rainbow,” she said, adding that the boy was “heartbroken” when that didn’t happen. “Seeing my kids in emotional pain is one of het hardest things I’ve had to endure.”
Patel’s entry into the program “not only will restore him back to himself, but it will restore the health and wellness of our entire family,” his wife added.
If the request is granted, a Stanford psychiatric clinician, James Armontrout, said he’d oversee Patel’s treatment, which would include intensive outpatient care involving group and individual therapy sessions, as well as meetings with himself and a psychotherapist.
San Mateo County prosecutors, however, have filed motions opposing the request. The hearing is expected to continue through the day Thursday.
Prosecutors say Patel intentionally tried to kill his wife and their two small children by driving off a 250-foot cliff onto a rocky beach outside Half Moon Bay. Patel suffered injuries to his leg and foot, while his wife suffered more severe injuries. Their 7-year-old child was seriously injured, and their 4-year-old only suffered bruises.
Patel later pleaded not guilty, claiming the family’s Tesla had been experiencing tire issues that may have caused the crash. He allegedly told investigators that he stopped three times at gas stations that day to put air in his left-rear tire while driving to the Devil’s Slide area. He added that the car’s tire-pressure sensor light had turned on beforehand, authorities say.
Patel’s mental state has been a central issue in the case, with his wife initially telling first responders that her husband was “depressed” and that “he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposely drove off.” Investigators also said the Tesla’s self-driving features did “not appear to be a contributing factor” in the incident.
Ultimately, the radiologist appeared to be experiencing a single expression of major depressive disorder that day, along with psychotic features and anxious distress, a psychologist testified last month. In the days before the crash, Patel grew increasingly delusional and overwhelmed about headlines from around the world, such as the war in Ukraine and the U.S. fentanyl crisis, the psychologist said.
Patel’s greatest delusions revolved around the risk of his children being kidnapped and molested, which appeared to be tied in some way to his concerns over the accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, the psychologist added.
State legislators in 2018 established the mental health diversion program as a way for eligible defendants to see their cases dismissed if they successfully complete a rigorous and lengthy treatment program.
To be eligible for the program, defendants must be diagnosed with a mental illness that has a direct connection to their alleged crime. The mental illness also must be treatable within the duration of the diversion program, which is two years for felony cases and one year for misdemeanor cases.
People accused of certain serious felonies, such as murder, are ineligible for the program. However, the charges that Patel faces, which include attempted murder, make him eligible.
Even if Patel does win entry into the program, it’s unclear whether he will be able to practice medicine anytime soon. Last year, a judge granted a request by the Medical Board of California to bar Patel from practicing medicine while he awaits trial on the charges, with the agency arguing that Patel represented “an alarming danger to the public” in light of an “impairment of cognitive abilities needed to safely practice medicine.”
On Thursday, an attorney for the medical board reiterated that request, asking the judge to maintain that order throughout Patel’s time in the two-year mental health diversion program, should the radiologist’s request be granted.
