- A doctor accused of purposely driving his family off a cliff in a Tesla can now avoid trial.
- A judge granted Dharmesh Patel's request for mental health diversion.
- The DA whose office brought attempted murder charges against Patel told BI he was "disappointed."
The California doctor who was accused of purposely driving his Tesla off a cliff with his family inside has been handed the chance to get the charges against him dismissed.
A San Mateo County judge on June 20 granted Dharmesh Patel's request to participate in a mental health diversion program, which would allow him to avoid a trial on charges of attempted murder.
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, whose office brought charges against Patel, panned Judge Susan Jakubowski's order, telling Business Insider on Wednesday that he was "disappointed with the court's decision."
"Judge Jakubowski carefully weighed the evidence and the facts and went the other way," Wagstaffe said. "If I were judge, I would definitely have ruled the opposite, but that is how our criminal justice system works. We do not get to win them all."
The ability to participate in diversion programs — for juveniles, veterans, or defendants struggling with mental health diagnoses or substance abuse struggles — is an increasingly popular alternative to jail sentences across the US.
When defendants who have been charged with crimes are allowed to participate in these specialized programs, which vary by state, they are generally required to participate in therapy or medical services tailored to their needs. When defendants complete the programming successfully, they often avoid a harsher sentence, or trial — and sometimes prevent an arraignment on the charges completely.
Patel was charged last year with three counts of attempted murder after he drove his wife and two young kids off a notorious 250-foot cliff in Northern California on January 2, 2023. He later pleaded not guilty.
The family miraculously survived the plunge off the cliff known as Devil's Slide.
Patel's wife screamed to rescuers at the scene that her husband, a radiologist, "tried to kill us" and that "he intentionally drove the car over" the edge, Wagstaffe previously told BI.
Still, the wife said she did not want her husband prosecuted and previously asked the court to release him from jail.
During last Thursday's hearing, Jakubowski determined that Patel was eligible for the state's mental health diversion program and "concluded the proper diagnosis for the defendant's mental illness was major depressive disorder, which is a qualifying mental disorder under the statute," according to the district attorney's office.
Patel has been locked up in the county jail since last year and will remain there for several more weeks for what was called a "bridging period" before officially being released, the DA's office said.
The judge ordered that Patel return to court once a week for progress reports, be monitored by GPS, reside in San Mateo County at his parents home, and, for the first two months, he can only leave his residence to go to court or mental health treatment sessions, according to the DA's office.
Under the court order, Patel must also test twice a week to show medication compliance, not use alcohol or drugs, possess no weapons, and surrender his driver's license and passport.
Wagstaffe told BI the charges against Patel have now been suspended and if he successfully completes the two years of the diversion program, the charges would be automatically dismissed.
"If during the two years he violates any of the requirements for diversion that Judge Jakubowski will impose, he can have his diversion revoked and the charges of attempted murder will go forward," said Wagstaffe.
Patel's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, Wagstaffe told BI that though he was upset by the judge's ruling, his "pique" was with the California Legislature and the state's governor, Gavin Newsom, "who feel that including violent crimes like attempted murder within the mental health diversion law does not endanger public safety."
Under California law, defendants are ineligible for the diversion program if they have been charged with other offenses, including murder, involuntary manslaughter, and rape.
" I disagree fervently with their conclusion," the DA said.
The governor's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.