Doctor who drove family off a cliff with kids inside won’t face trial but will ‘remain in prison’ for weeks

The Californian doctor who drove his family off a cliff with his kids inside won’t face trial but will 'remain in prison' for weeks.

Back in January 2023, radiologist Dharmesh Patel drove his car - with his wife and two children, who were 4 and 7 years old at the time, inside - off the edge of a 330ft cliff amid a 'mental health crisis'.

The vehicle was driven off Devil Slide cliff in California and onto the rocks below.

All four passengers survived the terrifying ordeal, after which Patel was then arrested and charged with three counts of attempted murder, to which he pleaded not guilty to back in September.

His wife, Neha, later insisted on supporting her husband, putting the incident down to a mental health episode.

"We need him in our lives and it has been over a year and a half since my children or I have seen or spoken to Dharmesh," she said.

Attorney Dr Mark Patterson also supported the family's claims, insisting that he'd exhibited 'paranoid and kind of delusional' in the days prior, and had falsely convinced himself that his children would be sex trafficked.

"It was paranoid and kind of delusional thinking that he acted on at the time to protect his family from a worse fate," he explained.

"He was concerned that his children were at risk of being kidnapped, possibly for sexual molestation.

"There were concerns surrounding the explosion of fentanyl in this country and the war in Ukraine."

Dharmesh Patel was charged with charged with three counts of attempted murder after driving his family off a cliff. (NBC)

Since then, the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office has granted Patel, 42, a mental health diversion due to evidence that he has major depressive disorder.

A statement from the attorney's office, which has been obtained by The New York Times, saw Superior Court Judge Susan Jakubowski conclude that Patel's depressive disorder made him eligible for the diversion.

"Judge Jakubowski made a lengthy statement concluding the defendant was suitable for mental health diversion. She stated that after review of all the evidence, she had concluded the proper diagnosis for the defendant's mental illness was major depressive disorder which is a qualifying mental disorder under the statute," the district attorney's office said.

All four passengers survived the terrifying ordeal. (NBC)

Patel, who had been with schizoaffective disorder and major depressive disorder, will now reportedly remain in jail for several weeks as a 'bridging period' before being released to his parents' home in Belmont, California.

Once there, the father-of-two will be monitored by GPS and required to report to court once a week, according to the news release.

A hearing regarding the mental health diversion is scheduled for the start of next month (1 July).

If you're experiencing distressing thoughts and feelings, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is there to support you. They're open from 5pm–midnight, 365 days a year. Their national number is 0800 58 58 58 and they also have a webchat service if you're not comfortable talking on the phone.