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Attempted murder charges against a California radiologist who allegedly intentionally drove his vehicle with his family off a cliff were dismissed Monday.
A San Mateo County judge tossed the charges against Dharmesh Patel, 45, following reports from doctors that he was doing well in the mental health program he was initially ordered to complete, FOX San Francisco reported.
In July 2024, Patel, who worked in Pasadena, was ordered to complete a two-year mental health diversion program while living at his parents’ Belmont home on a GPS monitor.
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In January 2023, he was driving his Tesla on the Pacific Coast Highway in San Mateo County when he drove off Devil’s Slide in Pacifica, plunging him and his family 300 feet.
First responders were forced to cut his family, including Patel’s 41-year-old wife, 7-year-old daughter, and 4-year-old son, out of the wreckage. Everyone survived.
At the time of the incident, Patel was having delusions driven by the war in Ukraine and the growing fentanyl crisis in the United States, his lawyers argued during a 2024 court hearing.
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Patel’s greatest delusion, according to a psychologist, was his fear that his children could be kidnapped and molested, which appeared somehow connected to his concerns about Jeffrey Epstein.
Shortly after the crash, Patel’s wife, Neha, said her husband “did it on purpose” and needed a “psych evaluation.” In addition, she said her husband was depressed, according to court documents.
“He said he was going to drive off the cliff,” she said.
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San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, who opposed Patel’s placement in the diversion program, criticized the decision to dismiss the case.
“He got the break of a lifetime,” Wagstaffe told the Mercury News.
After the ruling, Patel embraced his wife, and they left the courtroom together, the newspaper reported.
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Fox News Digital has reached out to the district attorney’s office and Patel’s attorney.
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Read the full article here
