Officials stated on Tuesday that a California man tried to kill his family by deliberately driving his Tesla off a 250-foot cliff.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the driver, his wife, and their three children were rescued and survived the accident on Monday at Devil’s Slide in San Mateo County.
Once he is out of the hospital, Dharmesh Arvind Patel, 41, of Pasadena, will be charged with attempted murder and child abuse.
Officials say firefighters saved the two children, ages 4 and 7, while a helicopter crew rescued the two adults from the car.
According to the highway patrol, the Tesla fell 250–300 feet.
The agency said, “Based on the evidence collected, investigators developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act.”
Brian Pottenger, the incident commander for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said witnesses called 911 at around 10:50 a.m. after the crash.
He claimed that the children’s car seats might have saved their lives because it was “very, very rare” for anybody to survive such a high fall.
“We were actually very shocked when we found survivable victims in the vehicle. So that actually was a hopeful moment for us,” Pottenger said.
Officer Andrew Barclay, a spokesperson for the highway patrol’s Golden Gate Division, stated that authorities intend to charge Patel with three counts of attempted murder and two charges of child abuse.
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