Dharmesh Patel, the Indian-origin man who threw his family off a cliff in America, was mentally disturbed: Doctor
“Patel heard footsteps and thought he was being followed.”
Washington:
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, a psychologist testified in connection with the case that an Indian-American radiologist who drove his family off the cliff had a ‘mental breakdown’ and believed that Her children were at risk of sex trafficking.
Dharmesh Patel, a radiologist, drove the Tesla carrying his wife and two children off a cliff in San Mario County, resulting in a crash last January.
Dr. Mark Patterson, an expert witness called by Patel’s lawyers, said in his testimony on Wednesday this week that he has met Patel several times since the January 2, 2023 accident.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, he said he was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, which also includes psychotic symptoms and anxious distress.
“A few weeks before the crash, Patel had been hearing footsteps and thought he was being followed,” Patterson said.
“It was a kind of delusional and delusional thinking that he adopted at the time to protect his family from a worse fate,” he told the court. Molestation.”
Prosecutors have charged Patel with three counts of attempted murder, alleging he intentionally drove his white 2021 Tesla Model Y off a cliff.
Patel, who has pleaded not guilty, is currently attempting to qualify for mental health treatment in lieu of jail time as part of a 2018 diversion law that was expanded last year.
Patel, who drove his Tesla car with Neha and her two children, was 41 at the time of the accident, his 7-year-old child suffered serious injuries, while his 4-year-old child escaped physically unharmed.
Citing search warrant records, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Neha Patel repeatedly told rescuers that her husband deliberately threw the family down the cliff to kill them. He also said that his mental health was going haywire.
However, Patel told CHP officers in his statement that he was not taking any medications or under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)