No jail for Indian-American who crashed car with family, will get mental health treatment

An Indian-American radiologist in California who drove his car off a cliff with his wife and two children inside the vehicle, in an alleged attempt to murder them will not be jailed and instead get mental health treatment.

A US court gave the ruling after psychologists testified that Dharmesh Patel drove his Tesla with his wife Neha and two children, 7 and 4, off a cliff last year following a psychotic breakdown.

Patel feared that his children were at risk of being sex trafficked, which led him to crash the car, the medical experts said.

The car fell down over 250 feet but the family miraculously survived the crash. All four were pulled out of the mangled vehicle.

Neha Patel admitted that Dharmesh Patel drove the Tesla off the cliff intentionally but said she did not want her husband prosecuted since her children missed their father.

Medical assessment

Doctors said the man suffered from schizoaffective (mental health condition that is marked by a mix of schizophrenia symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, and mood disorder symptoms), and a major depressive disorder.

"He had been hearing footsteps and thought he was being followed in the weeks before the crash. It was paranoid and kind of delusional thinking that he acted on at the time to protect his family from a worse fate," a psychologist told the court.

"He was concerned that his children were at risk of being kidnapped, possibly for sexual molestation," the expert added.

Patel’s defence attorney Joshua Bentley argued in May that Patel did not pose a danger to the community as he will be under an intensive psychiatric treatment programme.

“It’s important to understand why we are here. Not everyone who commits a crime is a criminal. There is no question this is a very serious case. But the law encompasses this very situation,” Bentley told Superior Court Judge Susan M Jakubowski.

Judiciary ruling

On Thursday (June 27), a US court decided that Patel is eligible for a mental health diversion. This allows an accused with mental illness to secure medical treatment instead of serving time in prison.

Superior Court Judge Susan M Jakubowski deemed Patel eligible for the programme.

Patel will be monitored with GPS and has to report to the court once a week. He must surrender his driving license and passport.