The California doctor accused of deliberately driving his Tesla off a 250-foot Devil Slide cliff thought he was protecting his family, a psychologist testified.
Dharmesh Patel, 42, was experiencing a psychotic episode and feared his two children were victims of sex trafficking, Dr. Mark Patterson, an expert witness called by Patel’s attorney, testified Wednesday.
“It was paranoid and kind of delusional thinking that he acted at the time to protect his family from a worse fate,” Patterson told the court.
“He feared his children were at risk of being kidnapped, possibly for sexual assault. …The fentanyl explosion in this country and the war in Ukraine have raised concerns.
Patel pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder after his white 2021 Tesla Model Y left the Pacific Coast Highway south of San Francisco and plunged off the cliff on January 2, 2023.
Dharmesh Patel, 42, accused of deliberately driving his Tesla off 250-foot Devil Slide cliff, thought he was protecting his family, psychologist testified
The Pasadena radiologist’s children, aged four and seven, and his wife Neha Patel, 41, were in the car, and an official said it was an “absolute miracle” that they made it out alive .
Patel was experiencing a psychotic episode and feared her two children were victims of sex trafficking, Dr. Mark Patterson, an expert witness called by Patel’s attorney, testified Wednesday.
Patterson was the first witness to be called Wednesday morning, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.
He diagnosed Patel with major depressive disorder with a single episode of psychotic features and anxious distress after meeting with him a dozen times.
The psychologist said Patel’s psychosis reached its peak in the days before the car crash, adding that he heard footsteps and thought he was being followed.
Patterson said he believed the 42-year-old man qualified for treatment under the Mental Health Diversion Act, as he said: “I see him as someone very motivated and receptive to treatment.
He stopped having delusions while being held without bail at the San Mateo County Jail, Patterson testified, adding, “he still feels a lot of remorse.”
Patterson’s psychosis took center stage during Wednesday’s hearing, as the charges against him would be dropped if he was granted diversion and completed two years of treatment.
Dr. James Armontrout, the second defense witness, diagnosed Patel with “major depressive disorder with psychotic features currently in remission.”
He also said Patel met the requirements for mental health diversion, which he and his legal team applied for in July last year.
The case will return to court on May 2, where San Mateo County prosecutors are expected to call their witness.
Judge Susan Jakubowski will determine whether Patel suffers from a mental illness contributing to the alleged murder and whether he presents a threat to public safety by the end of the hearing.
This diversion is part of a new statewide program in California that aims to keep mentally ill defendants out of incarceration.
The illness must be treatable for the duration of the diversion, which would be two years in Patel’s case since he faces criminal charges.
Neha Patel, the doctor’s wife, told investigators after the crash that her husband was depressed and had declared his intention to bring down the group.
Neha Patel (pictured) told investigators after the crash that her husband was depressed and had declared his intention to bring down the group.
Dharmesh Patel (photo from February 2023) wears an orange jumpsuit in a San Mateo County courtroom
Court records show Neha, 41, told a California Highway Patrol officer, “He’s a doctor. He said he was going to get off the cliff. He left voluntarily.
Witnesses confirmed this story and said they did not see the car attempt to stop as it flew off the cliffside and onto a rocky beach.
Patel survived with only minor injuries to his leg and foot, while Neha suffered more serious injuries in the accident.
The couple’s seven-year-old child was seriously injured and their four-year-old son escaped with only bruises. Both children were released from the hospital a few weeks later.
The radiologist initially claimed he was not guilty and that his Tesla had experienced tire problems on the day of the accident.
He said he stopped at gas stations three times to inflate the tires and the tire pressure light came on just before they went off the cliff.
The wreckage of the Tesla is photographed at the foot of the cliff
In June last year, the doctor was banned from practicing medicine after being branded an “alarming danger to the public” by the medical board.
Regulators argued the ban was necessary because Patel suffered from a “deficiency in the cognitive abilities necessary to practice medicine safely.”
In a statement released to the Mercury News, the medical board said Patel could not practice “under any circumstances” with the file still open.
“The ban on practicing medicine will remain in effect until the order is modified by the court or the criminal case against him is concluded,” the statement said.
Despite Neha’s insistence that her husband intentionally knocked their family off the cliff, Patel’s defense attorney said she did not want her husband to be prosecuted.
The lawyer’s statements were dismissed by Wagstaffe who said Neha’s statements after the accident supported the attempted murder charges.
“She said very simply that it was not an accident. We believe the evidence establishes the necessary intent to kill,” Wagstaffe told the San Francisco Chronicle.
A lawyer representing Neha said she is expected to approach the court next month.
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