The doctor accused of intentionally driving his Tesla off a California cliff with his wife and two young children inside was formally charged with three counts of attempted murder on Monday, according to court documents obtained by The Post.
Firefighters were forced to cut Dharmesh Patel, 41, his wife, Neha, also 41, their 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son out of wreckage. Patel had allegedly intentionally driven the vehicle off a notorious section of the Pacific Coast Highway known as the “Devil’s Slide” on Jan. 2 and dropped 250 ft.
San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said a statement from Patel’s wife to paramedics as well as witness accounts from other motorists and video of the roadway provided enough evidence for the charges against Patel.
“We do believe the evidence establishes the necessary intent to kill,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Patel had been under guard in hospital following the horror crash on Jan. 2 in which he sustained “serious lower body injuries,” but had recovered sufficiently to be booked into jail last Friday. He was then arraigned at the Superior Court of California in San Mateo where he was formally charged Monday.
The felony complaint against Patel also lists an allegation of domestic violence against his wife and causing her great bodily injury. Neha is only described in the court papers as Confidential Victim, while their two children are listed as Jane and John Doe.
A motive for the intentional crash has not been released, but Patel — a radiologist at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles — will be held with no bail at Maguire Correctional Facility and has been ordered not to contact his family. His wife remains in hospital. Local reports said one of the children was relatively unharmed, but another suffered a serious injury.
“We’re looking into what led up to this. Was there depression or anything else? It wasn’t just that he was trying to kill them, he was trying to kill himself too,” said Wagstaffe.
He also said investigators were looking at the car to rule out mechanical failure, but had so far found no indication of anything malfunctioning.
The case shocked neighbors, who described the Patels as an “idyllic” family who lived at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac in Pasadena.
