Wife of Dharmesh Patel, a Pasadena radiologist charged with attempting to murder her and their two children by driving them off a Northern California cliff, is asking for her husband’s release and treatment instead of imprisonment.
Neha Patel took the stand Thursday, testifying for the first time about the January 2023 incident when their Tesla plunged hundreds of feet off the Pacific Coast Highway near San Francisco. Despite suffering serious injuries herself, Neha delivered an impassioned defense of her husband.
“We need him in our life,” she stated via video call, according to the Mercury News. “We’re not a family without him.”
Her surprising testimony directly contradicts the statement she initially gave paramedics that Dharmesh Patel “intentionally tried to kill us” by driving off the cliff. Now, Neha blames the incident on “a mental health episode beyond any of our understanding and control.”
Neha portrayed Dharmesh, 42, as a loving father and “kind and altruistic” man struggling with a psychological crisis. She believes that “things will be different” if he can return home and undergo mandated mental health treatment rather than face prosecution.
The emotional toll of her husband’s absence was evident as Neha described her young daughter “crying at night” and son asking “why it’s taking so long” for his father to come home.
Dharmesh Patel currently faces three counts of attempted murder and has been jailed since the crash. His defense team is seeking to have the case shifted to a mental health diversion program that could see him released after two years if treatment obligations are met.
However, the San Mateo County District Attorney remains opposed, with a prosecution psychologist testifying Thursday that Dharmesh suffers from schizoaffective disorder, not just depression. The DA had previously cited Neha’s initial statement as proof of Dharmesh’s criminal intent.
The judge is currently weighing both psychiatric evaluations.
