A doctor who allegedly deliberately drove his Tesla down a California cliff, hurting his wife, two children, and himself, will be charged with attempted murder and child abuse after being released from the hospital on Wednesday where he was listed in stable condition.
Dharmesh Patel, a 41-year-old Pasadena-based radiologist, was taken into custody after being extricated from the wrecked car at the rocky base of Devil’s Slide, a notoriously perilous cliff that towers over the Pacific Ocean south of San Francisco.
The roughly 300-foot (91-meter) fall to the water’s edge was avoided by Patel, his 41-year-old wife, their 7-year-old daughter, and their 4-year-old son.
The California Highway Patrol reported that Patel was taken to a hospital on Monday with significant injuries. After his release, authorities intend to check him into the San Mateo County Jail in Redwood City.
Why is DOMESTIC VIOLENCE so prevalent in your culture @DineshDSouza?
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Dr. Dharmesh Patel, 41, charged w/attempted murder & child abuse. Charged w/intentionally driving his Tesla off the side of Pacific Coast Highway w/wife & 2 kids inside. #FirstThem 👉🏾
🔗https://t.co/5Q9KDz145y pic.twitter.com/BzuNXUbWGd— #FirstThem NEWS🇺🇸 (@FirstThemNEWS) January 5, 2023
It was unclear right away if Patel had hired a lawyer.
Although CHP later stated that the driving mode did not appear to have been a major cause of the accident, initial media accounts following the mishap on Monday suggested that the Tesla may have been in full self-driving mode.
According to the data gathered, the CHP stated that there was a “probable reason” to suspect that the occurrence was an intentional one.
The Los Angeles hospital where Patel works, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, expressed its “great sadness” over the event.
It issued a statement saying, “We are incredibly grateful there were no catastrophic injuries.” We won’t comment further while the situation is being investigated.
According to Brian Pottenger, battalion chief of the San Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit, the rescue took nearly three hours to perform.
According to Pottenger, a helicopter hoisted the adults with more critical injuries after the adults, who had less significant injuries, had been saved first.
According to Pottenger, “the kids were fastened properly in appropriate car seats, and the car seats were attached properly into the vehicle.” “In our perspective, those two children’s lives were spared by their car seats.”
After 10 a.m. on Monday, rescue personnel was called to a report of a car off the road south of the Tom Lantos Tunnels in the San Francisco region.
According to Patel, the Tesla he was driving was on the main stretch of the road when it went off the cliff.
Over the years, he claimed, “there have always been accidents in that location where automobiles have strayed off the route.”
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