A California man has been charged with premeditated attempted murder after allegedly driving his family over a cliff.
Dharmesh Patel, 41, of Pasadena, was arrested on Monday and charged the following day, according to a San Mateo County clerk who confirmed the information to USA TODAY.
On January 2, according to authorities, Dharmesh Patel allegedly drove his Tesla down a cliff at the Devil’s Slide section of the Pacific Coast Highway.
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According to Brian Pottenger, a Cal Fire battalion chief who was there at the incident, the car fell more than 250 feet, turned several times, and then came to rest on its wheels wedged against the cliff only a few feet from the ocean.
This morning, a vehicle with 2 adults and 2 minors went over cliff at Devil’s Slide in @sanmateoco. Witnesses saw the accident and called 911. The car plunged hundreds of feet down the cliff and landed on the beach. All four patients were successfully rescued. Watch the video! pic.twitter.com/HUM2SJ56Oy
— CAL FIRE CZU (@CALFIRECZU) January 3, 2023
Dharmesh Patel was in the car with their wife, their 7-year-old daughter, and their 4-year-old son, Dhapite had relatively minor wounds, and everyone lived.
“Based on the evidence collected, investigators developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act,” the California Highway Patrol said earlier this month.
Pottenger referred to the fact that anyone lived, much less the entire family, as a “miracle.”
“Every one of us was shocked when we saw movement out of the front windshield,” he said.
Patel practices radiology at the Mission Hills Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles.
This report was made possible by the Associated Press.