Straight out of ‘Sideways’: Chaos breaks out at California winery as mental health guru tries to start a fire and crashes his Tesla

The idyllic scenery of wine country in the San Francisco Bay Area, with bucolic rolling hills draped in the well-tended rows of vineyards, is an ideal place to find peace and calm. However, that wasn’t the case recently, at least not at Garrod Farms Estate Winery and Stables outside Saratoga.

Quite the opposite in fact, when perhaps the person you would not expect to go on a rampage and cause quite the ruckus, a mental health guru, did just that.

Not practicing what he preaches

42-year-old Beri Vikram alledgedly caused quite a bit of mayhem on the afternoon of Saturday 6 December, NBC Bay Area News reported. The founder of online mental health platform BetterLYF Wellness, caught the attention of the staff at Garrod Farms when it appeared he was attempting to start a fire.

When the staff went to confront Vikram, he threw a bottle of wine at them and tried to flee the scene in his Tesla according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. However, his flight was short-lived as he smashed into two parked cars, one of which went over an embankment.

The Menlo Park resident then drove his own car over the embankment, where it was immobilized by the tall weeds surrounding the vehicle. He refused to exit his car or surrender to authorities, so they resorted to using pepperballs and pepper spray to force him out of the car.

Vikram was arrested and taken to hospital for evaluation. He was later booked on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest according to police.

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