Charges against California dad who drove family off cliff dropped after
mental health treatment
[July 08, 2026]
By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — All charges against a radiologist accused of trying
to kill his family in 2023 by driving his car off a cliff along the
Northern California coast have been dismissed by a judge following his
completion of a mental health program.
Prosecutors charged Dharmesh Patel, 45, with attempted murder after he
drove his Tesla off a 250-foot (76-meter) cliff along the Pacific Coast
Highway known as “Devil's Slide,” injuring his wife and two young
children. All four survived the Jan. 2, 2023, crash in what one official
called an “absolute miracle.”
A San Mateo County judge dismissed the charges on Monday after Patel
completed a two-year mental health diversion program with a Stanford
University psychiatrist and a family therapist this week, San Mateo
County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
“The judge was required by the law to dismiss the charges,” Wagstaffe
said.
In 2024, a different judge ruled Patel would receive mental health
treatment instead of standing trial after his defense attorneys argued
he was going through episodic major depression with hallucinations when
he drove his family off the cliff and qualified for mental health
diversion under California law that went into effect in 2023.
“If the person who’s given mental health diversion follows the treatment
plan, there’s nothing that can be done and at the end of the two years
he gets it wiped out of his record.” Wagstaffe said.
San Mateo prosecutors unsuccessfully opposed diversion for Patel.
Wagstaffe and other California district attorneys have argued that
attempted murder should be excluded from eligibility for mental health
diversion, and they are working with lawmakers to amend the law.
“We’ll try again in the future," he said about the law. “We’re not
giving up.”
Patel's attorney, Joshua Bentley, did not immediately returned a message
Tuesday seeking comment.
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In this photo provided by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office,
emergency personnel respond to a vehicle over the side of Highway 1
on Jan. 1, 2023, in San Mateo County, Calif. (Sgt. Brian Moore/San
Mateo County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)
Patel, of Pasadena, was on a family road trip in the Bay Area at the
time of the crash. He told a psychiatrist after his arrest that he
was depressed and had delusions that his children, ages 4 and 7 at
the time, would be trafficked by kidnappers, Wagstaffe said.
Patel was in jail without bail until he was released in 2024 to
complete a mental health outpatient treatment program. He then moved
in with his parents in San Mateo County and was monitored through a
GPS bracelet. He had to surrender his driver’s license and passport,
and had to check with the court weekly.
Wagstaffe said Patel's wife and children also moved to the San
Francisco Bay Area, and the court eventually allowed him to spend
time with his family and take them out on drives.
Patel’s wife testified that she had forgiven her husband and did not
want him to be prosecuted. She said her children missed their father
and they wanted him back home.
After the charges were dismissed Monday, Patel walked to the
courtroom gallery where his wife was waiting and the two left the
building together, the Mercury News reported.
Months after his arrest, the Medical Board of California barred
Patel from practicing medicine while he faced attempted murder
charges. The board said Tuesday that Patel surrendered his
California medical license in December.
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