Indian-origin physician who ‘purposely’ drove household off cliff seeks psychological aide

By Press Trust of India: A 41-year-old Indian-origin physician within the US who faces sentencing for allegedly trying to kill his spouse and two minor kids by “purposely” driving his Tesla automobile off the Pacific Coast Highway has requested for a psychological well being diversion as an alternative of a jail time period, a media report mentioned.

Dharmesh Patel was charged in May with three counts of first-degree tried homicide after allegedly driving himself, his spouse, and their two kids — the 4-year-old boy and a 7-year-old woman — off the Devil’s Slide close to California Highway 1 in his Tesla, KRON-TV reported on Saturday.

They all survived the crash on January 3 this yr.

Patel’s spouse maintains that her husband advised his household he would drive off the cliff earlier than the incident. The suspect claimed his Tesla Model Y was having tire points when he drove off the 250-foot cliff in California.

“He drove off. He’s depressed,” Neha Patel mentioned in an affidavit obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. “He’s a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposely drove off.”

Patel pleaded not responsible and as an alternative requested for a psychological well being diversion due to his main depressive dysfunction (MDD) analysis, the report mentioned.

ALSO READ | Indian-origin man drives Tesla off California cliff with spouse, 2 kids

To be eligible for the programme, a suspect’s psychological dysfunction must be a “significant factor” within the legal act, California regulation says.

If individuals full remedy throughout the diversion programme, their fees may very well be dropped and their arrest may very well be expunged.

Murder and voluntary manslaughter suspects are excluded from the diversion programme, however tried homicide will not be explicitly dominated out.

After the programme is full, the courtroom decides if the earlier fees can be reinstated.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe beforehand mentioned everybody within the automobile wanted to be pulled from the automobile’s home windows. The boy was not injured, whereas Patel’s daughter sustained severe accidents however recovered shortly.

Patel’s spouse, Neha “suffered probably the most serious injuries”, Wagstaffe defined.

Patel’s eligibility for the psychological well being diversion will likely be determined on the finish of July.

Aside from that preliminary remark to paramedics, Wagstaffe mentioned witnesses and video footage from the Tom Lantos Tunnel, which Patel drove by means of earlier than the crash, confirmed his Tesla driving straight off the cliff with out braking or trying to serve to security.

Investigators had been inspecting the Tesla to find out if there have been any mechanical points with the automobile earlier than the crash, which might strengthen the defence’s argument in courtroom. California officers believed Patel’s actions had been “intentional”.

ALSO READ | Tesla’s China chief turns into highest-profile government after Elon Musk