‘He intentionally tried to kill us’ Neha Patel, told paramedics on Jan 2, 2023, as they rescued her and her two children from a car wreck that her doctor husband deliberately drove them off a cliff

Neha Patel, 42, Thursday urged prosecutors to drop criminal prosecution of husband, Dharmesh Patel, 43, because ‘we need him home’

She blamed the crash on ‘a mental health episode beyond understanding’

Patel accused of trying to kill himself, his wife and kids aged four and seven, is facing first degree attempted murder and child abuse

Neha Patel [right], has urged California prosecutors to drop the criminal charges against her doctor husband Dharmesh, [left], who drove her and their kids off cliff in a failed murder-suicide bid on January 2, 2023

The wife of a California doctor who drove her and his kids off a cliff in a failed murder-suicide bid has begged prosecutors to drop the charges, in contrast to her assertion at the time. ‘He intentionally tried to kill us’ Neha Patel told paramedics at the time, as they rescued her and her two children from a car wreck that her doctor husband Dharmesh Patel deliberately drove off a cliff withe whole family inside.
The Pasadena doctor was charged with the attempted murder of his wife and their two young children by deliberately driving the family Tesla off the side of a 250ft cliff.
Now under a ban, Dharmesh A. Patel, 43, a radiologist at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Pasadena, is accused of intentionally driving his white Tesla Model Y off a cliff known as Devil’s Slide on January 2, 2023.

Dharmesh Patel, 43, accused of purposefully driving his Tesla off a 250ft Devil Slide’s cliff thought he was protecting his family, a psychologist testified. His wife blamed the crash on ‘a mental health episode beyond understanding.’

In a fresh twist, the defendant’s wife, Neha Patel spoke for the first time in court since the January 2, 2023, incident in which her husband purposely drove off a massive cliff on the Pacific Coast Highway south of San Francisco, plunging down a precipice. 
Neha along with their then-four-year-old son and daughter, then 7, were in the car. The entire family miraculously survived the crash but were left seriously injured.
The driver himself sustained the most serious injuries. Neha sustained less serious injuries. Their two children then aged four and seven, also survived with relatively minor injuries.
The Mercury News reports Neha Thursday, urging prosecutors to drop the criminal charges against her husband. She was seeking her husband’s release under the condition that he participated in a mental health diversion program. 
‘We need him in our life,’ Patel’s wife told the court on Thursday, before blaming the crash on ‘a mental health episode beyond any of our understanding or control’.

‘Considering the huge drop from the highway to the bottom of the cliff where the Tesla came to a stop the survival of the family is considered ‘miraculous’. However, Patel’s wife now says his return will not only ‘restore him back to himself, but it will restore the health and wellness of our entire family’ 

He’s remained incarcerated since., but his wife in a recent appeal for clemency has promised that ‘things will be different’ if her husband is allowed to return home to their family.
Patel’s wife said his return will not only ‘restore him back to himself, but it will restore the health and wellness of our entire family.’ 
Emphasizing the importance of the ‘health and safety’ of her family, she said that she ‘will not hesitate to seek help when needed.’ 
‘We need — we need him in our life,’ Patel’s wife added. ‘We’re not a family without him.’
If the plan is approved, Patel’s care would be in the hands of Stanford psychiatric clinician, James Armontrout. 
The medical treatment would entail group and individual therapy sessions, as well as sessions with a psychotherapist.
But the San Mateo County prosecutors, are opposing the request, and have filed motions against it. 

The Pasadena radiologist’s children, aged four and seven at the time, and his wife Neha Patel [image: Family portrait], who were in the car, by an ‘absolute miracle’, all survived without life altering injuries

Dharmesh Patel [photo, circa February 2023], stands in an orange jumpsuit in a San Mateo County courtroom. has been incarcerated since Jan 2023 

Expressing the impact of her husband’s absence of her and her children, Patel’s wife said, her son is asking what’s ‘taking so long’ for her father’s return. 
‘He wished daddy would magically appear on St. Patrick’s Day when he saw a rainbow,’  she said. ‘Seeing my kids in emotional pain is one of the hardest things I’ve had to endure.’ 
Calling him a ‘kind and altruistic’ man, she said Patel ‘has been my best friend for more than 25 years.’
In April, it was reported that despite Neha’s insistence that her husband intentionally drove their family off a cliff, Patel’s defense attorney said that she did not want her husband prosecuted.
The lawyer’s statements were rebuffed by Wagstaffe who said that Neha’s statements following the crash support the attempted murder charges.
‘She said very simply this was not an accident. We do believe the evidence establishes the necessary intent to kill,’ Wagstaffe told the San Francisco Chronicle.

The wreckage of the Tesla is pictured at the bottom of the cliff. Despite Neha’s insistence that her husband intentionally drove their family off a cliff, Patel’s defense say she does not want her husband prosecuted, but prosecutors said her statements following the crash support the attempted murder charges

Court records show Neha, now 42, told a California Highway Patrol officer that, ‘He’s a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposely drove off.’
Witnesses backed that story up and said that they did not see the car attempt to stop as it flew off the cliffside and down onto a rocky beach.
After careening down the sheer cliff face the Tesla truck landed on it’s four wheels. Rescuers rappelled down below to rescue Patel who survived with only minor injuries to his leg and foot while Neha had more serious injuries from the crash.
The couple’s seven-year-old son was seriously injured and their four-year-old daughter made it out with just bruises. Both children were released from the hospital within weeks. 
Patel initially claimed that he was not guilty and that his Tesla had been experiencing tire issues on the day of the crash – that he’d stopped three times at gas stations to put air in the tires, yet the tire pressure light turned on just before it went off the cliff.

Six months after the horrifying crash in June 2023, Dr Dharmesh Patel was banned from practicing medicine. The Medical Board called the 42-year-old ‘an alarming danger to the public’

In the light of the destruction wrought on the Tesla Model Y [photo], that plunged to the water’s edge landing on all four wheels, responders marveled at the miracle of the family of four strapped in a smashed up vehicle without sustaining life-threatening injuries

Six months later, in June 2023, the 42-year-old doctor was banned from practicing medicine.
Described as ‘an alarming danger to the public’ by The Medical Board, regulators argued that the ban was necessary because Patel had an ‘impairment of cognitive abilities needed to safely practice medicine.’
In a statement issued to the Mercury News, the medical board said Patel could not practice ‘under any circumstances’ with the case still open. 
‘The prohibition on practicing medicine will continue until the order is modified by the court or the criminal case against him concludes,’ the statement read.

Sheriff’s deputies work to free Dharmesh Arvind Patel’s crashed his Tesla after the family was airlifted to safety. The family of four all survived

The car was traveling northbound on Highway 1 near San Francisco at around 10am on Monday, January 2, 2023 when it flew over a sheer cliff face, at the Tom Lantos Tunnel, dropping 250ft below

Dr. Mark Patterson an expert witnesses for the defense told the court that Patel, 42, was experiencing a psychotic episode and feared his two kids would be sex trafficked prior to the incident. 
‘It was paranoid and kind of delusional thinking that he acted on at the time to protect his family from a worse fate,’ Patterson told the court. 
‘He was concerned that his children were at risk of being kidnapped, possibly for sexual molestation. … There were concerns surrounding the explosion of fentanyl in this country and the war in Ukraine.’ 
Patel, who remains in Redwood City jail, pled not guilty to three counts of attempted murder. 
Patterson, a psychologist, testified that he diagnosed Patel with major depressive disorder with a single episode of psychotic features and anxious distress after meeting him a dozen times. 
Patel’s psychosis peaked in the days before the car crash, adding that he had been hearing footsteps and thought he was followed, Patterson told the court.
Patterson believes Patel is qualified for treatment under the mental health diversion law, as he said, ‘I see him as someone who is very motivated and amenable to treatment. The defendant stopped having delusions while being held without bail at the San Mateo County jail. ‘He still feels a lot of remorse,’  Patterson told the court.