Psychotic breakdown prompts California man to drive Tesla off cliff with family inside

The radiologist from California who was accused of driving his family off cliff in Tesla, may have suffered a psychotic breakdown, he thought his children were going to be sex trafficked, Independent reported.

Dharmesh Patel, is facing three attempted murder charges after his vehicle fell off from Devil’s Slide, near San Francisco, with his wife and two children inside last January.

Patel, his wife, Neha, and their children — a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy at the time — "miraculously" survived the fall.

The father of two has not pleaded guilty and instead has asked to be admitted to a mental health programme.

In the ongoing trial, two doctors after conducting a series of 18 tests testified that, Patel was experiencing hallucinations at the time of the crash, in which he believed his children might be sex trafficked.

These delusions were heightened by concerns related to Jeffrey Epstein, Russia’s war in Ukraine and the fentanyl crisis.

Neha told investigators after the crash that her husband was suicidal and intentionally drove off the Tesla.

She said: "He's depressed. He's a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposefully drove off."

Patel has been diagnosed with schizoaffective, which is a chronic mental condition similar to schizophrenia.