US: Indian-Origin Doctor Who Drove Family Off Cliff Barred From Practicing Medicine

NEW YORK: A 41-year-old Indian-origin doctor has been barred by a US court from practicing medicine due to multiple attempted murder charges faced by him for driving his family off a cliff in California, according to a media report.

Dharmesh A Patel, a radiologist, has been charged in January with three counts of murder for driving a Tesla off a cliff intentionally, while his wife and two children were still inside with him.

The Medical Board of California passed a motion to bar Patel from practicing medicine, mainly if he were released on bail. The motion was approved by San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Rachel Holt at a hearing on Monday, reported The Mercury News earlier this week.

The regulators in the medical board felt that the move was necessary while arguing in court filings earlier in the week, saying that Mr. Patel is now representing a danger of an alarming nature to the public at large. A fact that was stressed on in light of an impairment of cognitive abilities which are needed for a doctor or medical practitioner to safely practice medicine, which the newspaper reported.

A motion by the medical board said regarding his criminal case that “Public protection, therefore, requires that Defendant be prohibited from practicing medicine throughout the pendency.”

Regulators also cited in court the comments that were made by Patel's wife after her rescue in the harrowing incident. She is reported to have told an emergency worker that Patel “did it on purpose,” adding later that “he drove off” the cliff with clear intent, the report said.

Patel's wife also disclosed that he was depressed, as recorded in court documents. “He's a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposely drove off,” she is reported to have said.

A resident of Pasadena, California, Patel is now in prison without bail in the San Mateo County jail since he was arrested.

It is suspected by investigators that Patel drove his family purposefully off a cliff near Devil's Slide along Highway 1, sending the car 250 feet down onto a rocky beach.

He pleaded not guilty before the court, with the claim that the family's Tesla had been experiencing tyre issues, and told investigators that he had stopped at gas stations three times that day to put air in his left-rear tyre while driving to the Devil's Slide area.

While the crash led to Patel's leg and foot being injured, his wife’s injuries were more severe. However, their 4-year-old child had only bruises, but their 7-year-old child suffered more serious injuries. Both of them were discharged from the hospital before a month from the crash.

While attorneys continued to sift through the evidence in the case, there has been a delay in a preliminary hearing set for this week, the report said.

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