Calif. father accused of intentionally driving off cliff with wife and children inside
01/04/2023 11:42 am PST
SAN MATEO COUNTY, Calif. (TCD) -- A 41-year-old doctor allegedly drove a Tesla off a 250-foot cliff in an attempt to kill his wife and children earlier this week.
According to a news release from the California Highway Patrol, on Jan. 2, the CHP along with multiple fire agencies, the United States Coast Guard, and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a vehicle that had plunged off Devil’s Slide. At the scene, authorities reportedly found two adults and two children trapped inside a Tesla.
According to the CHP, firefighters rappelled down the cliff and rescued the children, and a helicopter crew rescued the adults.
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office said the two adults suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and the two children were unharmed.
Brian Pottenger, the incident commander for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told NBC News it was "very, very rare" for anyone to survive that kind of fall.
Upon further investigation, authorities reportedly determined that the father, Dharmesh Arvind Patel, of Pasadena, intentionally drove the vehicle off the cliff.
The Tesla was driving south on State Route 1 when it drove off the cliff and landed near the water’s edge before flipping and landing on its wheels, according to NBC News.
Patel faces charges of attempted murder and child abuse, KCBS-TV reports. He will be booked into the San Mateo County Jail after he is released from the hospital.
According to KCBS, Patel is a doctor at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center. His two children are reportedly 4 and 7 years old.
Neighbors told KCBS that the Patels drove to Northern California multiple times throughout the year to visit family.
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