US: Indian-Origin Physician Who Drove Tesla Off Cliff With Household Inside Skilled ‘Psychotic’ Break

An Indian-origin radiologist who drove his Tesla off a cliff within the US along with his spouse and kids inside allegedly suffered from main depressive dysfunction and was experiencing a psychotic break on the time of the incident, media stories quoted two medical doctors testifying at a current listening to.

Dharmesh Patel from Pasadena, California was charged in January final 12 months with three counts of tried homicide after he drove the household’s Tesla off the cliff at Satan’s Slide on Freeway 1 close to Half Moon Bay, in line with prosecutors. Patel, his spouse, Neha, and their kids — a 7-year-old lady and a 4-year-old boy on the time — miraculously survived.

Patel, 43, was experiencing hallucinations, listening to footsteps and believed his kids had been intercourse trafficked, two medical doctors testified at a listening to on Wednesday in Redwood Metropolis. Wednesday’s listening to was a response to an earlier request from Patel who’s in search of a psychological well being diversion in his case, the New York Publish newspaper reported.

If a choose grants the medical doctors’ request, Patel can be positioned on a two-year therapy plan as a substitute of receiving jail time. Patel’s expenses can be dropped if he doesn’t commit any crimes in the course of the proposed therapy plan. On the time of the crash, the medical doctors testified, Patel was experiencing a psychotic episode by which he believed that his kids may be intercourse trafficked, Los Angeles Occasions newspaper quoted District Lawyer Stephen Wagstaffe as saying.

Docs — Mark Patterson and James Armontrout — testified for the defence. If Patel is positioned within the psychological diversion program, James Armontrout, a Stanford psychiatric clinician, will oversee the therapy. “I see him as somebody who could be very motivated and amenable to therapy,” psychologist Mark Patterson testified on the listening to. Patterson’s prognosis of Patel got here after a sequence of 18 assessments had been performed and he spoke with the physician and his siblings.

Prosecutors oppose diversion within the case, arguing that the prosecution’s physician discovered Patel just isn’t affected by a serious depressive dysfunction with a psychotic function, however from a unique dysfunction, referred to as schizoaffective, and that the defence’s proposed therapy plan is not going to be efficient. Prosecutors consider the case ought to stay in court docket.

Wagstaffe apprehensive that if Patel is launched he is not going to be monitored besides in his conferences with medical doctors. “If he goes off his remedy, how are you aware? It’s not like being on probation or parole. It’s purely the visits with the psychiatrist,” he mentioned. Patel’s lawyer, Joshua Bentley, didn’t reply to a request for remark, the report mentioned.

(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is printed from a syndicated information company feed – PTI)