Doctor Accused of Deliberately Driving Family Off Cliff Pleads Not Guilty
‘ATTEMPTED MURDER’
A California doctor has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder charges after being accused of intentionally driving his family off a cliff. Radiologist Dharmesh Patel, 41, was arrested after authorities recovered him, his 41-year-old wife and their two children—a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy—from the wreckage of their white Tesla at the bottom of a 250-foot cliff in Northern California last month. Patel denied allegations that the crash was intentional at a court hearing on Thursday. “He is charged with three counts of premeditated and deliberate attempted murder,” said San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Sean Gallagher. “We believe the evidence will show him intentionally driving his family off a cliff with the intent to kill them.”