California man allegedly drove off cliff with his wife and 2 children – now it has been ‘wiped out of his record’

A California radiologist who was accused of attempting to kill his wife and two young children by driving his car off a cliff along the Northern California coast in 2023 has had all charges against him dismissed, according to CNN. A San Mateo County judge dropped the attempted murder charges after the man completed a court-ordered two-year mental health diversion program, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe who told CNN.

The incident took place on January 2, 2023, when Dharmesh Patel, now 45, allegedly drove his Tesla off a 250-foot cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway in San Mateo County. His wife and two young children, aged 4 and 7 at the time, were said to be in the car with him. All four survived, with one official describing the outcome as “an absolute miracle.”

Prosecutors reportedly charged Patel with attempted murder following the crash. However, in 2024, a judge is said to have ruled that he would receive mental health treatment rather than stand trial, after his defense attorneys argued he was experiencing episodic major depression with hallucinations at the time of the incident and qualified for mental health diversion under a California law that came into effect in 2023.

California’s mental health diversion law allowed Patel’s record to be cleared after he completed treatment

Patel told a psychiatrist after his arrest that he was depressed and had delusions that his children would be trafficked by kidnappers, according to Wagstaffe. His defense team argued this mental state made him eligible for diversion under the state law, a position San Mateo prosecutors contested but ultimately could not overturn. In another case, a Connecticut cop was charged after fatally shooting a Black man in a mental health crisis.

After being held in jail without bail for a period of time, Patel was released in 2024 to complete a mental health outpatient treatment program. According to Wagstaffe, he moved in with his parents in San Mateo County, was monitored through a GPS bracelet, had to surrender his driver’s license and passport, and was required to check in with the court weekly.

Patel reportedly completed the two-year program, which included work with a Stanford psychiatrist and a family therapist, earlier this week. Once he did, the judge was said to have left with no choice under the law but to dismiss the charges. “The judge was required by the law to dismiss the charges,” Wagstaffe said.

Wagstaffe explained how the diversion law works in practice: “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.” 

During the course of the proceedings, Patel’s wife reportedly testified that she had forgiven her husband and did not want him to be prosecuted. She also said their children missed their father and wanted him back home. 

The court eventually permitted Patel to spend time with his family and take them out on drives, according to Wagstaffe. After the charges were dismissed on Monday, Patel reportedly walked to the courtroom gallery where his wife was waiting, and the two left the courthouse together. A similar dispute in California saw a dad face prison for shooting at teen pranksters.

San Mateo prosecutors had opposed the diversion from the start, and Wagstaffe, along with other California district attorneys, have been pushing lawmakers to amend the law so that attempted murder charges are excluded from mental health diversion eligibility. “We’ll try again in the future,” Wagstaffe said. “We’re not giving up.”