Wife of Pasadena doctor who drove family off cliff told rescuers he was depressed
The wife of a Pasadena doctor accused of trying to kill his family when he drove his Tesla off a cliff along Highway 1 told rescuers that 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 her husband, 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 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.”
Neighbors in Pasadena were shocked to hear that friendly, soft-spoken Dharmesh Patel was charged with attempted murder after driving the family’s Tesla off the cliff on Highway 1.
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, the Chronicle reported.
He said that 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.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
