The wife of Dharmesh Patel, the doctor accused of driving his Tesla vehicle with his family inside off a cliff in California in early January, has asked authorities not to prosecute him for attempted murder, despite confirming it was not attempted. from an accident and that he drove into the abyss “on purpose”.
Patel, a Pasadena radiologist, his wife, Neha, their 7-year-old daughter, and their 4-year-old son, were critically injured and miraculously survived the brutal fall.
They were rescued with chainsaws from the crushed car that fell more than 250 feet (76 meters) high.
[“He tried to kill us,” says wife of man accused of throwing a Tesla off a cliff in California]
“We have collected some evidence, but the investigation will continue and we believe it will establish the motive for this case,” said Sean Gallagher, assistant district attorney, reported the NBC News affiliate, sister network of Noticias Telemundo, in the Bay Area. San Francisco.
Josh Bentley, Patel's defense attorney, said on February 9 that his client's wife did not want him to be prosecuted.
"Our conviction is that regardless of whether she cooperates, we have sufficient evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt," Gallagher insisted.
“We believe
the evidence will show that he intentionally led his family off a cliff with the intent to kill them
,” she asserted.
From miraculous rescue to disturbing criminal case: the unexpected twist in a California accident
Jan 4, 202300:31
Gallagher noted that this often happens in cases involving victims of domestic violence.
It is a “very dynamic situation whenever this violence occurs in the family environment,” she explained.
San Mateo County Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said in early February that the woman confided to paramedics that it was not an accident that her husband drove the vehicle off a cliff.
[Tesla driver who plunged family off cliff did so on purpose, California authorities say]
Patel, 41, pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and domestic violence charges.
"I wouldn't say it's crucial, but if you can't get testimony from the wife, you can't get testimony from the children and you don't have video of the interior, it's a very difficult case," explained legal analyst Dean
Johnson
, to the NBC News affiliate in the San Francisco Bay Area.
“They have a purely circumstantial case,” he added.
On video: The miraculous rescue of two children and two adults who fell in a car off a cliff
Jan 3, 202300:26
Patel is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on March 20.
If he is found guilty he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
The case was initially reported as a traffic accident, but soon after it took an unexpected turn when authorities announced that the driver of the vehicle would be charged with three counts of attempted murder and two other aggravations.
