A California man accused of intentionally driving a Tesla off a cliff on Jan. 2 with his wife and two children inside the vehicle has been transported from a hospital to a San Mateo County jail.
Dharmesh Patel, 41, of Pasadena, is charged with attempted first-degree attempted murder and child abuse, as well as enhancements for great bodily injury and domestic abuse, San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said during a Monday press conference.
A San Mateo judge on Monday reportedly granted a request to hold Patel without bail at the Maguire Correctional Facility, citing the danger he poses to his family, according to San Francisco Chronicle reporter Matthais Gafni.
The 41-year-old doctor was scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon, but his attorney asked for a delay, according to Gafni. The judge reportedly granted stay away orders for Patel’s family.
CALIFORNIA MAN INTETIONALLY DROVE TESLA OFF CLIFF WITH ANOTHER ADULT, 2 KIDS IN CAR: AUTHORITIES
The driver of the car that plunged 250 feet off a cliff in Northern California, injuring his two young children and his wife, has been released from the hospital and jailed on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse.
(Sgt. Brian Moore/San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office )
California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Mark Andrew said on Jan. 3 that he did not believe the Tesla was on autopilot at the time of the crash off the ‘Devil’s Slide’ cliff, south of the Tom Lantos tunnels on State Highway 1.
First responders who arrived at the scene on Jan. 2 noticed the white Tesla about 250 feet down the cliff and noticed victims still moving inside the vehicle.
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Rescuers were able to pull the two children — a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy with musculoskeletal injuries — from the vehicle using a “jaws of life” tool and pulled Patel and his wife from the vehicle’s windows.
Emergency personnel respond after a Tesla plunged off a Northern California cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, near an area known as Devil’s Slide, leaving four people in critical condition, a fire official said.
( (San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office via AP))
“We go there all the time for cars over the cliff, and they never live. This was an absolute miracle,” Brian Pottenger, a battalion chief for Coastside Fire Protection District/Cal Fire, said after the crash.
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District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told The Los Angeles Times that authorities are “having the car looked at from top to bottom” to determine whether the car may have experienced any mechanical issues during the crash.
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California officials believe Patel’s actions were “intentional.”
Authorities are asking additional witnesses to call the CHP-San Francisco Area at 415-557-1094.
Fox News’ Elizabeth Pritchett and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
