Two doctors testified that the man who drove his Tesla off a cliff with his wife and children in the car suffered from major depressive order and was experiencing a psychotic break at the time of the crash.
The testimony came Wednesday in the case of Dharmesh Patel, a Pasadena radiologist who was charged with three counts of attempted murder after he drove the family’s Tesla off the cliff at Devil’s Slide on Highway 1 near Half Moon Bay, according to prosecutors.
At the time of the crash, the doctors testified, Patel was experiencing a psychotic episode in which he believed that his children might be sex trafficked, according to Dist. Atty. Stephen Wagstaffe.
Two doctors, Mark Patterson and James Armontrout, testified for the defense.
Read more: Driver of Tesla that plunged off Northern California cliff arrested; CHP calls crash intentional
Patel is seeking mental health diversion in his case, which would allow for him to be released from jail and put on a treatment plan for two years. If he does not commit another crime or break any of the rules imposed when he is released in that time, the charges against him would be dropped.
Prosecutors oppose diversion in the case, arguing that the prosecution’s doctor found Patel is not suffering from a major depressive disorder with a psychotic feature, but from a different disorder, known as schizoaffective, and that the defense’s proposed treatment plan will not be effective. Prosecutors believe the case should remain in court.
Wagstaffe worried that if Patel is released he will not be monitored except in his meetings with doctors.
“If he goes off his medication, how do you know? It’s not like being on probation or on parole. It’s purely the visits with the psychiatrist,” he said.
Patel’s attorney, Joshua Bentley, did not respond to a request for comment.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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