US: Indian Man Who Drove Tesla Off The Cliff With Family Suffered 'Psychosis'

An Indian-American radiologist who drove his family off the cliff had a 'psychotic breakdown' and believed his children were at risk of being sex trafficked, a psychologist testified regarding the case, according to San Francisco Chronicle. The incident occurred in January 2023 when an Indian-origin radiologist, Dharmesh Patel in California, drove their Tesla off the cliff 250 feet deep into the Pacific Ocean. 

The accused man's wife Neha Patel and two children, a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old son miraculously survived the devastating accident while Patel has been facing three felony counts of attempted murder of his family, however, the case in the California Court has shed new light in the case as the defence claims Patel was allegedly experiencing psychosis and suffered major depressive episode during the time of the incident. 

US: Indian Man Who Drove Tesla Off The Cliff With Family Suffered Psychosis

A recent development in the case has brought a new spin after lawyers of Patel in the court presented that Patel was experiencing hallucinations while driving, where he heard footsteps and believed his children were sex trafficked due to which Patel drove the Tesla off the cliff to save his children in a panic attempt. 

Two doctors, Dr Mark Patterson and James Armontrout testified for Patel who is currently seeking mental health diversion in the case. Doctors who evaluated Patel after the incident presented their findings in court to prove that Patel suffered major depressive disorder and was experiencing psychosis resulting in his delusion during the time of the crash.

Dr Patterson during the court hearing said: "I see him as someone who is very motivated and amenable to treatment" as a series of 18 tests were conducted; including conversations with Patel and his siblings before presenting the diagnosis for Patel in the court.

However, the prosecution, Neha Patel's (wife) attorney opposed the defence seeking mental health diversion in the case as the doctors of the prosecution suggested the accused was not suffering from a major depressive episode featuring psychosis but a different disorder known as "schizoaffective" and defied that the proposed treatment for the accused man by the defence will not be effective on him. While his wife, Neha Patel alleged that her husband told her he was going to drive the car off the cliff before doing the same. 

As per the laws in California, in any criminal act, a suspect's or accused's mental disorder is a significant factor in the diversion of their criminal case into a diversion of the case into a treatment where they are eligible in mental health care centres. 

The next hearing of the case will be on May 2. If the judge approves Patel's request who is currently serving jail time to divert his case for mental disorder treatments, Patel will undergo a two-year treatment programme, and after completing the program without further offences would result in the charges being dropped. 

The prosecutors who are expected to be bringing more witnesses to the case in the next hearing believe the case should remain in the court as they are worried if Patel is released he will not be monitored except for his doctors' meetings, they questioned: "If he goes off his medication, how do you know? It's not like being on probation or parole. It's purely the visits with the psychiatrist."

This case raises important questions about mental health and criminal justice, particularly how courts handle situations where mental illness may be a factor in criminal acts.