The California doctor who allegedly attempted to kill his family by driving his Tesla off Pacific Coast Highway is asking for a mental health diversion to avoid being sentenced to prison, reports say.

Pasadena resident Dharmesh Patel, 41, was charged with three counts of first-degree attempted murder in May. Patel pled not guilty to the charges in February. 

Patel was the driver of a Tesla that plunged off Devil's Slide near California Highway 1 on January 3. Patel, his wife, his 4-year-old son and his 7-year-old daughter all survived the crash. 

The suspect's lawyers have asked for a mental health diversion because of Patel's major depressive disorder (MDD) diagnosis, according to KRON 4.

DHARMESH PATEL: SON OF CALIFORNIA DOCTOR WHO DROVE FAMILY OFF CLIFF HAD ‘NO INJURIES’ AFTER FALL

To be eligible for the program, a suspect's mental disorder would need to be a "significant factor" in the criminal act, California law says. If participants successfully complete treatment within the diversion program, their charges could be dropped and their arrest could be expunged. 

Murder and voluntary manslaughter suspects are excluded from the diversion program, but attempted murder is not explicitly ruled out. After the program is complete, the court decides if the previous charges would be reinstated.

Patel's wife maintains that her husband told his family he was going to drive off the cliff before the incident. The suspect claimed his Tesla Model Y was having tire issues when he drove off the 250-foot cliff.

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

DRAMATIC VIDEO SHOWS CALIFORNIA HELICOPTER RESCUE AFTER TESLA PLUNGES OFF 'DEVIL'S SLIDE' CLIFF

First responders extracted everyone from the mangled Tesla using hydraulic rescue tools, or "jaws of life" tools.

District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe previously told Fox News Digital that everyone in the vehicle needed to be pulled from the car's windows. The boy was not injured, while Patel's daughter sustained serious injuries but recovered quickly.

Neha "suffered probably the most serious injuries," Wagstaffe explained.

Patel's eligibility for the mental health diversion will be decided at the end of July.

Fox News Digital's Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned Sunday that those attending the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania this week should discuss the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, given "the vast majority of the alliance members will be in the direct impact zone" should any impending disaster occur at the facility. 

In a Telegram message, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of plotting a "systematic infliction of damage" to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – Europe’s largest – which is located in southeastern Ukraine and occupied by Russian troops.

"The NATO summit's key attention should be devoted to it," Zakharova wrote, according to Reuters. "After all, the vast majority of the alliance members will be in the direct impact zone." 

Last week, Ukraine and Russia accused each other of planning an imminent attack against the plant. 

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Ukrainian intelligence noted that Russian forces were pulling out of the territory around the plant.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an interview on ABC’s "This Week" Sunday that he believes "Russia is planning a local explosion" and anticipates "additional steps in order to make the entire world to be afraid of the global nuclear disaster and halt all military action on the battlefield." 

In a July 7 statement, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said "experts have received additional access at the site of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, without – so far – observing any visible indications of mines or explosives." 

President Biden will be among the NATO leaders planning to meet in Vilnius, Lithuania, located some 620 miles from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, from July 11-12. The world’s biggest security alliance is expected to iron out agreements on admitting Sweden as its 32nd member as well as continued support for Ukraine. 

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Biden – who despite unease from several U.S. allies agreed to send cluster munitions to Ukraine – has spoken out against granting Ukraine NATO membership in the immediate future as the war against Russia continues, raising the concern that doing so would spark a wider scale conflict. 

Zelenskyy alleged Tuesday, citing intelligence reports, that Russian troops placed "objects resembling explosives" atop several power units to "simulate" an attack as part of a false flag operation. The "foreign objects" were placed on the roof of the plant’s third and fourth power units, the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said.

In Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, meanwhile, called the situation at the nuclear plant "quite tense," and accused Kyiv of planning an attack.

The U.N. atomic watchdog has repeatedly warned of the possibility of a radiation catastrophe like the one at Chernobyl, about 300 miles to the northwest, where a reactor exploded in 1986. The Zaporizhzhia plant has been shelled numerous times since the war began.

Regular power outages have made it impossible to operate the plant safely, and its six reactors have been shut down to minimize the threat of a disaster.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.