California doctor, 41, who ‘tried to kill his family’ by driving their Tesla off 250ft Devil’s Slide cliff is BANNED from practicing medicine because he is ‘an alarming danger to the public’ – as he faces attempted murder charges
- Radiologist Dharmesh Patel, 41, has been held in a San Mateo jail since his arrest
- The Medical Board of California has reportedly barred him from practicing medicine in the event that he is released on bail
- He has denied attempted murder after allegedly driving his car, with his wife and two children on board, off a precipice south of San Francisco on January 2
A California doctor who allegedly tried to kill his family by driving their Tesla off a 250-foot cliff known as Devil’s Side has been banned from practicing medicine after being dubbed ‘an alarming danger to the public’.
Radiologist Dharmesh Patel, 41, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder after his white 2021 Tesla Model Y veered off the Pacific Coast Highway south of San Francisco and plunged from the precipice on January 2.
His children, aged four and seven, and wife Neha Patel, 41, were in the car, and an official said it was an ‘absolute miracle’ that they made it out alive.
While Patel has been held in San Mateo County’s Maguire Correctional Facility since his arrest, this week the Medical Board of California successfully applied to ban him from practicing medicine if he is released on bail, according to the Mercury News.
The Pasadena radiologist’s children, aged four and seven, and wife Neha Patel, 41, were in the car, and an official said it was an ‘absolute miracle’ that they made it out alive
Patel is pictured in a mugshot after he was booked in the San Mateo County’s Maguire Correctional Facility, where he remains held without bail
Patel is speculated to have performed a sharp turn before reaching the Tom Lantos Tunnel, which is where the Tesla veered off the road, first onto a dirt area and then down the cliff
The paper said regulators argued that the ban was necessary because Patel poses ‘an alarming danger to the public’ in light of an ‘impairment of cognitive abilities needed to safely practice medicine.’
Judge Rachel Holt granted the request on Monday, after postponing Patel’s preliminary hearing scheduled for that morning.
This comes after his wife revealed that the Pasadena radiologist stated his intention to die moments before the crash.
Court documents showed that as Neha Patel was airlifted from the scene, she told a California Highway Patrol officer: ‘He drove off. He’s depressed.
‘He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposely drove off.’
All four people in the car survived in what one official called an ‘absolute miracle.’ Dharmesh Patel, 41, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder
The wreckage of the Tesla is pictured at the bottom of the cliff
Patel and his Defense Attorney Joshua Bentley inside the courtroom during Patel’s court proceeding in Redwood City in February
Despite this comment, Patel’s defense attorney Josh Bentley previously said that his wife did not want her husband prosecuted.
Patel, who is on limited contact with his family, claimed he pulled off the road to check on a potentially flat tire – though witness testimony does not appear to support this account.
He was seen driving at speed northbound on Highway 1 and he is speculated to have performed a sharp turn before reaching the Tom Lantos Tunnel, which is where the Tesla veered off the road, first onto a dirt area and then down the cliff.
Patel suffered major lower body injuries, while his wife suffered severe injuries and both their children were treated in hospital.
DailyMail
