"The children were uninjured, the authorities said at the time. The California Highway Patrol quickly determined the crash had been 'an intentional act.'"
From
"Charges Against Man Who Drove Family Off Cliff Are Dropped After Treatment/Three counts of attempted murder against Dharmesh A. Patel were dismissed after he completed a court-ordered mental health program, prosecutors said" (NYT).
It was a 250-foot drop.
"'He can drive home tonight,' said [Steve Wagstaffe, the San Mateo County district attorney], whose office opposed the diversion program and had asked the court to bring Mr. Patel to trial. 'It’s like the case never happened.'"
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48 comments:
Rehabilitated recidivism with collateral damage deja vu.
Musk should intervene and make the guy's life a modicum more miserable--since the State is looking the other way. This story could use the publicity.
More red flags ignored.
Note the Tesla saved them.
"'He can drive home tonight,'"
Trying OJ was a travesty.
He planned, he ran, he took a dive, again. A handmade tale as s modern feature with diverse precedents.
At first I thought this was some sort of diminished capacity nonsense. Oh, boo hoo, the poor doctor was drowning in debt and, more importantly, he had some sort of BS mental illness that impaired his ability to form the specific intent required for first degree murder! What a crock. If these murderous creeps can't persuade a jury they're insane, they should hang.
Please note the only time a car model is mentioned in mainstream media stories is when it is a Tesla.
You never see headlines like "Ford F-150 crashes into store."
It's just a truck. In this case, I suppose it was a good thing but 99% of the time is to cast a negative light on the brand by people who I assume are hostile to Elon Musk.
Tempted to read the article to see what happened. NYT is not my thing. I just bought a Tesla and I am extremely happy with the self-driving. Was wondering if they blamed the car or not?
A 50-year-long thought process. CA Governor Jerry Brown pushed through the "Prisoner's Bill of Rights" way back in 1975.
Utopians who move to CA to find heaven on Earth demand to be in heaven no matter the facts. When you walk off the edge of a cliff, just don't look down and you'll be safe. It's the "5 second rule" of gravity. True only in CA.
I bet the ride home was very quiet.
Hamasidol... uh, homicidal angst and advocacy is a theme.
Known Unknown, before Tesla, it was gas guzzling SUV's that rained death and destruction down on the innocent standbyers. Rush talked about it often.
"'He can drive home tonight"..
well, NOT in that Tesla
A companion story:
On May 1, 2025, a young mother in a small Idaho town said she found her twin toddlers dead in their bed, cold and lying on their bellies.
Three days later, she sat for an interview with Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine nonprofit co-founded by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., claiming that vaccines caused their deaths. The story was sensational, billed on the group’s website as “breaking news” of toddlers who were born together and died together, “FOLLOWING VACCINATIONS.”
The organization quickly embraced the woman, Andrea Renee Shaw, naming her the lead plaintiff in two legal actions against the nation’s top society of pediatricians claiming that the organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics, lied about the safety of childhood vaccines.
Then, last week, after a nearly 14-month investigation by the Payette Police Department, a grand jury indicted Ms. Shaw, 23, on charges of murder, claiming that she suffocated the children in an act that was either premeditated or taken in the course of aggravated battery.
"Howard said...
A companion story:"
But she won't get away with it. She's not an Indian origin doctor who deserves gentle hands treatment.
They survived a 250 foot drop? That would make a good Tesla ad. Like those old Timex ads, “Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.” Though the Tesla won’t keep ticking.
Maybe one day you'll be driving along the top of a 250-foot cliff and be seized with an urge to steer the car over the edge. What will stop you?
But to do it with a 7-year-old and a 4-year-old in the car....
It just sounds to me like some money did some talking, and this bullshit artist is walking. Of course I don't know, but that's my instinct.
What happened to jurisprudence? I recall decades ago that a finding of mental incompetence in court was a rare item, and rather difficult to achieve.
Now, apparently, it seems fairly common that people are released from responsibility by this. I believe, if true, the same sentence should be served in a mental health facility as would be served in a penitentiary.
Perhaps if Norm were still alive, he'd modify one of his more famous OJ jokes (with apologies): “Well, it is finally official: attempted murder is legal in the state of California.”
We are getting old and driving is not as effortless as it once was. Tesla not only drives me around but it is one of the safest autos on the road. And haven’t stopped at a gas station or done the three oil changes that would have been required with my truck.
"Well...it's good to be home again. Hey, Honey, Kids. Who's up for a nice drive along the coast?"
What is a cliff? A white cliffs of Dover almost sheer drop or a steep slope? Or just a slope? Did the car free fall 250 feet or bounce down a hill?
There is something wrong with this picture. Neither diversion nor dismissal under these circumstances should have occurred without the prosecutor’s consent. If the law permits either, it is really screwed up. Soros law.
This occurred at Devil’s Slide, the infamous nude beach on Highway One just south of SF. As soon as I was set up in SF, way back in 1971, I made my pilgrimage to check out all those hot, naked California Girls. Tough climb down that cliff, but in those days I would do anything for pussy. Hit the bottom… only to see… nothing but a sea of gay dick. Well, a few f*g h*gs surrounded by gay dick. A very discouraged climb back up the cliff. Maybe the driver was pissed off over the same thing. False advertising.
The New York Post article is really good. His wife saved his ass.
Devil's Slide: Just park your car and the Earth will take you down the slope in a minute.
My dentist was a Patel. So was the dentist called in to advise. I asked if they were related. His response: "We're all related." That was probably true, but it's not a question you want to ask your own local Patel.
This is a complete disgrace and a breakdown in the rule of law. This guy should have been tried.
But at least the County Attorney filed a case in California. In Knox County, Nebraska the County Attorney didn't prosecute a driver for nearly killing two school girls who were in the crosswalk by the Crofton school. They were in the hospital for one month and have permanent injuries.
And, yeah, John Thomas and Hanna Knox Jensen, I'm looking at the two of you. Wondering what other slam dunk criminal cases you never prosecuted.
Imagine you have this psychotic episode, a complete break from reality, and in a flash, you try to kill yourself and your family.
And God saves everybody. Nobody dies. Nobody's even hurt, apparently.
You've come back to reality. You're horrified by what you've done. You spend two years thinking about how you tried to kill yourself and your wife and your kids. I mean, the guilt must have been awful.
And then, your wife forgives you, your kids forgive you, they all want you back. Your sin is forgiven. Your crime is forgiven. You don't deserve it. But you're given this grace, anyway.
"What is a cliff? A white cliffs of Dover almost sheer drop or a steep slope? Or just a slope? Did the car free fall 250 feet or bounce down a hill?"
A very good question. There are virtually no sheer drops of 250 feet. Even the White Cliffs of Dover are a bit sloped. So it seems very likely the car bounced many times and may have even "driven" down the "cliff" in a very bumpy ride. The fact that all 4 passengers survived strongly speaks against the "cliff" being a perfect 90 degree drop.
This article has a picture of the crash and shows the "cliff". It is far from a vertical drop.
https://archive.ph/5jG2D
I've hear that attempted suicides often don't realize this and are very unpleasantly surprised.
"'He can drive home tonight“
Seems like they should at least suspend his license for a while.
In Democratic Commie-Soros land - Crime is free and a free-for-all.
what would stop me?
Kids in the car? perhaps? maybe? I dunno?
California crazy.
"The children were uninjured..."
If Graham Platner is "100 percent disabled" from PTSD, I would think the kids might have a pretty solid insurance claim.
But will his wife and his two kids ride with him when he drives a car?
Or will patients still want to be treated by him? Did his medical license get permanently revoked?
Crime is also Free & A free for all in Insane leftwing-D Colorado.
I could maybe understand his wife being so delusionally devoted that she pleads for leniency. But to take him back and to once again place the safety of your children in his hands is not loving; it's just stupid and destructive. How can Child Protective Services leave those kids in his care?
Who’s going to drive you home tonight ?
They were extremely lucky. Large parts of that coastline - SF to LA have cliffs that dont have much slope. Nor do they have rocks or a small beach at the bottom. Nope, its just the pacific ocean.
That's why I'd suggest anyone who wants to commit suicide not to drive off a cliff. You're likely to survive the impact and end up living or drowning.
Best way to kill yourself? Jump out a plane above 1000 feet without a parachute. Splat.
BTW, when I was young i went to 'Nude beach' in Maui. This was the early 90s. I was hoping for beautiful young chicks, and got Gays, old people and fatties.
A few months in therapy and the Judge decided the guy who drove his family over a cliff, was good to go.
This is unreal. Next time I receive a summons for jury duty it goes in the trash.
250 foot drop. Kids unhurt. And the Tesla records all kinds of video. Should make for a great commercial
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