Socialites, last month we reported on a family man named Dharmesh Patel, who had driven his wife and seven-year-old daughter off Devil’s Slide cliff in California. During the investigation, authorities were told by his wife, Neha, that Patel had “intentionally tried to kill us,” though a motive for his reasons in allegedly trying to end their lives remains unknown.
The 41-year-old from Pasadena pleaded not guilty to the three counts of attempted murder last week, and now it seems Neha is backing her husband by switching up her story and saying she does not want him to be prosecuted for the near-fatal crash.
A doctor is accused of intentionally driving a Tesla off a cliff in California with his family inside last month. Now Dharmesh Patel, 41, of Pasadena, is facing three felony counts of attempted murder as well as child abuse. @MaraMontalbano has the details. pic.twitter.com/fbNiyUk3ZR
— Inside Edition (@InsideEdition) February 2, 2023
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During the court hearing, defense attorney Josh Bentley noted that Neha doesn’t want her husband put on trial for the case, having clearly switched up her tune to what she had allegedly previously told law enforcement officers.
San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Sean Gallagher seems to be under the impression that the reason behind Neha refusing to cooperate with cops isn’t uncommon in partners stuck in abusive relationships. “Regardless of whether she is cooperative, we believe we have sufficient evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.”
At the time of the alleged accident, emergency responders had to use ropes to repel the family out of the crushed vehicle on the cliff edge, making it a complete miracle that any of them were even able to survive the impact.
An onlooker named Robin Johnson who was present at the scene told NBC how she allegedly saw Patel speeding through a rounded area towards the cliff, which made her wonder, “‘Wow, he’s driving extremely fast to take that exit.’”
Dharmesh Patel pleads not guilty in the attempted murder of his wife and two children. He allegedly tried to drive them off of a cliff on Jan 2nd. His wife does not want him charged even though she says it was not an accident. Witnesses did not see him apply his breaks once. pic.twitter.com/Jge0f2kXjo
— Rose (@901Lulu) February 13, 2023
“And I can see in my rear-view mirror this car just go over the edge and straight down. We came out here, unfortunately for things like this,’ said Brian Pottenger of the Coastside Fire Protection District. And it was nothing short of a miracle that they survived.”