California: Indian origin doctor Dharmesh A Patel has been barred from practising medicine as he is facing multiple attempted murder charges for driving his family off a cliff in California. Patel, a radiologist, was charged with three counts of murder in January after he allegedly drove his wife, two kids, and a Tesla down a cliff on purpose.
According to reports, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Rachel Holt granted a motion by the Medical Board of California to prevent Patel from practising medicine. The regulators termed the move necessary while arguing in court filings this week, as Patel represented “an alarming danger to the public” in light of an “impairment of cognitive abilities needed to safely practice medicine," the newspaper reported.
“Public protection, therefore, requires that the defendant be prohibited from practising medicine throughout the pendency” of his criminal case, the medical board’s motion said. Regulators also cited comments made by Patel’s wife after her rescue. She told an emergency worker that Patel “did it on purpose,” adding later that “he drove off,” the report said.
“He’s depressed,” said Patel’s wife, according to court documents. “He’s a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposely drove off,” she said. Patel, a resident of Pasadena, California, remains in prison without bail in the San Mateo County jail since his arrest.
Investigators think Patel drove his family off a cliff close to Devil's Slide on Highway 1, sending the vehicle tumbling 250 feet into a rocky beach.