“Break of a lifetime.”
By Catholics for Catholics
A doctor accused of driving a car off a cliff in California in 2023 with his wife and children inside, had his charges dropped on Monday after he concluded a court-ordered mental health program, prosecutors said.
The former doctor, Dharmesh A. Patel, 45, was charged with three counts of attempted murder after the authorities said he drove his Tesla — with his wife and two children inside — off a perfidious cliff-top road in San Mateo County on Jan. 2, 2023. All four managed to come out alive from the 250-foot drop after a rescue that officials described at the time as nearly miraculous.
Patel, a radiologist with no prior criminal record, had his charges dismissed after he completed a two-year mental health diversion program, which permits defendants to receive treatment instead of standing trial, said Steve Wagstaffe, the San Mateo County district attorney.
Patel’s Tesla crashed into a rocky outcropping, overturned several times, and came to rest on its wheels, the Associated Press reported. Firefighters had to cut the family out of the rubble.
Bubna, Patel’s wife, told investigators she believed her husband “did it on purpose” and needed a “psych evaluation,” according to local outlet KTVU. She added that her husband suffered from depression.
“He said he was going to drive off the cliff,” she said, according to KTVU. The Southern California-based family was reportedly in the Bay Area visiting relatives at the time of the crash.
On Monday, a San Mateo County judge dismissed the charges after Patel successfully completed the two-year mental health diversion program, according to the Associated Press.
“The judge was required by law to dismiss the charges,” San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told the outlet, referring to a 2023 California bill that allowed Patel to qualify for the mental health program.
Later, Patel’s wife testified that she had forgiven him and did not want him to be prosecuted, according to the AP.
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