A California radiologist drove his family off of a cliff on purpose, his wife repeatedly and emphatically told authorities, according to newly unsealed court records.
The incident occurred on Jan. 2 in San Mateo County, with Dharmesh Arvind Patel, MD, his wife, Neha, and their 4- and 7-year-old children miraculously surviving the fall. After authorities rescued the Pasadena woman from the foot of Devil’s Slide, she repeatedly implicated her husband, the San Francisco Chronicle reported May 17.
“He drove off. He’s depressed. He’s a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposely drove off,” Neha Patel told a California Highway Patrol officer on Jan. 2 as she was airlifted from the site, according to court records.
The unsealed documents include witness accounts, a description of footage from the crash site, forensic findings, and details on the radiologist’s mental health and what he told authorities after the accident. Patel claimed he had pulled his 2021 Tesla Model Y to the side of the road to check for a possible flat tire. The vehicle plummeted more than 250 feet, turning over in the air several times before landing on its wheels.
Authorities have scheduled a preliminary hearing for June 12, when a judge will determine whether they have enough evidence to proceed with a trial. California Highway Patrol troopers arrested Patel earlier this year and are holding him without bail. He has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder.
Read more from the Chronicle—and previous coverage of the case from Radiology Business—below.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.