A 41-year-old Indian Origin man in the US has been arrested over a suspicious attempt to murder and child abuse after he intentionally drove his Tesla off the cliff with his wife and two children inside.
Dharmesh A Patel of Pasadena California will be taken to San Mateo County Jail after his discharge from the hospital where he is currently undergoing treatment after suffering injuries due to the accident, the Highway Patrol party said in a statement.
Dharmesh Patel, his wife, and children survived and were rescued on Monday at Devil's Slide in San Mateo County, the California Highway Patrol said.
The rescue operation that underwent involved firefighters who rappelled down the cliff to save the two children, which includes a 4-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy. The chopper crew rescued the couple from the sight of the crash, US Media reported.
The rescue was described as almost miraculous, The Tesla was 250 to 300 feet down, according to the highway patrol. It further added in a statement, "Based on the evidence collected, investigators developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act.”
This afternoon, deputies responded to a solo vehicle over the side of Hwy 1 south of the Tom Lantos tunnel. Two adults suffered non-life threatening injuries and two children were unharmed. Tremendous collaborative effort btwn SMSO, @CHP_GoldenGate and @calfireSCU pic.twitter.com/sVyKp6LSrc
— San Mateo County S.O (@SMCSheriff) January 3, 2023
Brian Pottenger, the incident commander for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said witnesses called 911 after the crash. It is extremely rare that someone survives such a brutal steep fall the officers said that the children’s seats must have saved their lives.
While briefing the matter he said, "We were actually very shocked when we found survivable victims in the vehicle. So that actually was a hopeful moment for us.”
The children involved in the crash suffered moderate injuries, The authorities have planned to charge Mr. Patel with three counts of murder, while on two counts of child abuse, officer Andrew Barclay, a spokesman for the highway patrol's Golden Gate Division said while narrating the matter.