The suicidal doctor accused of driving his family off a cliff in California has blamed the Tesla he was driving for malfunctioning — but his wife and witnesses maintain it was a deliberate act.
Documents unsealed Wednesday said Dharmesh Patel, 41, told investigators the sensor on his Model Y electric car indicated it had low tire pressure as he was driving his wife and two children on the Pacific Coast Highway on Jan. 2.
Patel said he was trying to stop to check the tires when the car tumbled down the bluff overlooking the ocean.
Patel’s wife, Neha, refuted those claims, according to court documents obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle telling rescuers: “He’s depressed. He’s a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposely drove off.”
In a three-page probable cause document, California Highway Patrol Officer Aaron Sapien wrote while being rescued out of the car, Neha Patel told an emergency worker, “something to the effect that the driver, her husband Dharmesh Patel, did it on purpose. … She then told him that her husband needs a psych evaluation.”
Patel, a radiologist at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles, was also hurt in the crash. He sustained “serious lower body injuries” and was hospitalized under guard for several weeks before he recovered enough to be booked into jail on Jan. 20.
His wife and their daughter were also seriously injured, while their son suffered minor injuries.
Patel told investigators he and his family were on their way to Montara, a beach town where his brother lived.
He said he stopped at three gas stations because the Tesla’s dashboard sensors kept indicating the tire pressure was low. He added while he was on PCH, the car “began to feel different.”
“Patel then moved the Tesla to a ‘dirt path’ to check the tire air pressure,” Sapien wrote in the affidavit. “Patel related that it was a short distance before they fell down the cliff.”
Patel also said his wife had been “irritated” shortly before the crash because she didn’t want to stop by his brother’s house before returning home to Pasadena. He also told officers he was not on any medication or under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.
“When asked if he felt depressed, he related he was not really depressed, he just felt down because times were bad in the world [with] the war and the drugs,” Sapien wrote. “When asked if he felt suicidal, he stated, ‘You know, not like a plan, not usually’ and related they he was more worried about the world.”
Patel pleaded not guilty in February at a Redwood City courtroom to three counts of attempted murder and two enhancements related to the grave injuries suffered by his wife and 7-year old daughter.
Witnesses said the Tesla didn’t show signs of slowing down before it plummeted off the cliff and the police report also does not indicate a malfunction.
“The tire marks are consistent with a vehicle making a gradual right turn,” Sapien wrote. The marks continued up the inclined dirt/sand road and end at the apex of the embankment.” The officer added there were no signs of breaking.
Cops also obtained surveillance video that corroborated the witnesses’ account.
San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said in January the Tesla was not in self-driving mode when it plunged into the rocky beachside bluff.
