Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Doctor Purposely Drove Family off a California Cliff, Wife Tells Rescuers
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
May 18, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The wife of a California radiologist accused of trying to kill his family when he drove his Tesla off a cliff along the Northern California coast told rescuers her husband was depressed and needed a psychological evaluation, according to a newly unsealed search warrant affidavit.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday that Neha Patel repeatedly told rescuers that Dharmesh Patel intentionally drove off a San Mateo County cliff on Jan. 2 in a bid to kill her and their two children, ages 4 and 7. All four survived in what one official called an “absolute miracle.”

Dharmesh Patel, a Pasadena radiologist, said he pulled off the road to check on a possibly flat tire, according to the warrant. Witness testimony does not appear to back up his account.

“He drove off. He’s depressed,” Neha Patel told a California Highway Patrol officer as she was flown away from the crash site, according to the Chronicle. “He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposely drove off.”

Dharmesh Patel, 41, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder. He is in custody without bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 12, at which time a judge will decide if there’s enough evidence to move ahead with a trial.

Patel was driving his white 2021 Tesla Model Y along the Pacific Coast Highway south of San Francisco when the car plunged several hundred feet off the cliff at Devil’s Slide. Firefighters had to cut the family out of the wreckage.

The warrant affidavit includes an interview with Patel while he was recovering from major lower body injuries. In the interview, he said his wife was irritated shortly before the plunge off the cliff because she didn’t want to stop at his brother’s house in San Mateo County before making their drive home to the Los Angeles area, the Chronicle reported.

He said he was not really depressed but that he felt down because times were bad in the world, according to the affidavit.

“Asked if he felt suicidal, he said, ‘You know, not like a plan, not usually,’” the affidavit said.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno County’s New Breeding Ordinance Could Shut Down 50 Operations

DON'T MISS

NATO Leaders Set to Back Trump Defense Spending Goal at Hague Summit

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Wildfire Quickly Contained. How Did They Do It?

DON'T MISS

Lender’s Intervention Halts City of Fresno’s Eviction Attempt at Granite Park

DON'T MISS

Clovis Unified Faces Lawsuit Alleging Years of Neglect and Sexual Abuse at Fancher Creek

DON'T MISS

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

DON'T MISS

US Airstrikes Failed to Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Sites, Sources Say

DON'T MISS

Stephen Miller Expands Power in Second Trump Term, Defies Legal Limits

DON'T MISS

FTA Unloads on Fresno Unified After Skipping External Search for Chief Academic Officer

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Dies After Alleyway Attack. Police Investigating

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Dies After Alleyway Attack. Police Investigating

UP NEXT

Poll: Most Californians Prefer Lower Taxes and Fewer Services, Skeptical of Gov’t Spending

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Fresno Parking Lot Murder

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison in Deadly Fentanyl Case

UP NEXT

Victims Identified as Death Toll Climbs to 8 in Lake Tahoe Boating Tragedy

UP NEXT

Dying Honey Bees Threaten CA Economy. Can Central Valley Lawmakers Save Them?

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Andres Mojica

UP NEXT

PG&E Is Hiring an Executive Bodyguard. Combat Shooting Experience Required

UP NEXT

Fresno County Detectives Seek Man for Interview in 2020 Homicide Case

UP NEXT

Kings County SWAT Arrests Los Angeles Homicide Suspect After Standoff

NATO Leaders Set to Back Trump Defense Spending Goal at Hague Summit

8 hours ago

Fresno County Wildfire Quickly Contained. How Did They Do It?

9 hours ago

Lender’s Intervention Halts City of Fresno’s Eviction Attempt at Granite Park

9 hours ago

Clovis Unified Faces Lawsuit Alleging Years of Neglect and Sexual Abuse at Fancher Creek

9 hours ago

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

10 hours ago

US Airstrikes Failed to Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Sites, Sources Say

10 hours ago

Stephen Miller Expands Power in Second Trump Term, Defies Legal Limits

10 hours ago

FTA Unloads on Fresno Unified After Skipping External Search for Chief Academic Officer

11 hours ago

Fresno Man Dies After Alleyway Attack. Police Investigating

11 hours ago

Poll: Most Californians Prefer Lower Taxes and Fewer Services, Skeptical of Gov’t Spending

11 hours ago

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday conceded to state lawmaker Zohran Mamdani in the Democratic primary election for New York C...

5 hours ago

Former New York governor and New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo speaks during the primary election night rally in New York City, U.S., June 24, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper
5 hours ago

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

People hold “I Voted” stickers on Democratic primary day in New York, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. After months of campaigning, caustic debates and a deluge of attack ads, the consequential Democratic primary for mayor of New York City comes to a head on Tuesday as voters stream to the ballot box in blistering heat. (Hilary Swift/The New York Times)
5 hours ago

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

8 hours ago

Fresno County’s New Breeding Ordinance Could Shut Down 50 Operations

President Donald Trump arrives at a dinner for NATO heads of state and governments hosted by Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Dutch Queen Maxima, on the sidelines of a NATO Summit, at Huis ten Bosch Palace in The Hague, Netherlands June 24, 2025. (Reuters/Toby Melville)
8 hours ago

NATO Leaders Set to Back Trump Defense Spending Goal at Hague Summit

A 180-acre wildfire in Cantua Creek was fully contained Tuesday afternoon, with CalFire crediting nearby roads for helping crews quickly stop the Monterey Fire from spreading. (CalFire)
9 hours ago

Fresno County Wildfire Quickly Contained. How Did They Do It?

9 hours ago

Lender’s Intervention Halts City of Fresno’s Eviction Attempt at Granite Park

9 hours ago

Clovis Unified Faces Lawsuit Alleging Years of Neglect and Sexual Abuse at Fancher Creek

California Fertility Clinic Bombing Investigation
10 hours ago

Suspect in Bombing at California Fertility Clinic Dies in Federal Custody

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend