California fire agencies rescue adults via helicopter after Tesla plunges off cliff
California Highway Patrol helicopters assisted in the rescue and extrication of two adults. (California Highway Patrol - Golden Gate Division Air Operations / LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)
California radiologist Dharmesh Patel was "depressed" and "purposefully drove off" a cliff in his Tesla with his family inside, his wife, Neha Patel, told investigators in January.
Dharmesh Patel, 41, of Pasadena, was charged on Monday with three counts of first-degree attempted murder after allegedly driving himself, his wife and their two children — a 4-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl — off Devil's Slide near California Highway 1 in his Tesla.
"He drove off. He’s depressed. He’s a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He purposely drove off," Neha Patel told investigators, according to a newly unsealed affidavit obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Dharmesh claimed at the time that he pulled off the road to check a flat tire, the affidavit states. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
DHARMESH PATEL: SON OF CALIFORNIA DOCTOR WHO DROVE FAMILY OFF CLIFF HAD ‘NO INJURIES’ AFTER FALL
Dharmesh Patel is charged with three counts of attempted murder after allegedly driving himself and his family off a cliff in California. (Facebook | San Mateo County Sheriff's Office)
California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Mark Andrew said on Jan. 3 that he did not believe the Tesla was on autopilot at the time of the crash off the Devil's Slide cliff, south of the Tom Lantos tunnels on State Highway 1.
First responders who arrived at the scene on Jan. 2 noticed the white Tesla about 250 feet down the cliff and saw victims still moving inside the vehicle.
DRAMATIC VIDEO SHOWS CALIFORNIA HELICOPTER RESCUE AFTER TESLA PLUNGES OFF 'DEVIL'S SLIDE' CLIFF
Rescuers were able to pull the couple's two children from the vehicle using a "jaws of life" tool and pulled Patel and his wife from the vehicle's windows. The boy had no physical injuries, Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe previously told Fox News Digital.
Emergency personnel respond to a vehicle over the side of Highway 1 in San Mateo County, California, on Jan. 2, 2023. (Sgt. Brian Moore/San Mateo County Sheriff's Office via AP; File)
The 7-year-old girl, who was also in a child seat, sustained "significant" injuries but was released from the hospital "fairly quickly" and will not have "long-term" physical complications, the DA's office was told.
CALIFORNIA DOCTOR WHO DROVE TESLA OFF CLIFF WITH WIFE, 2 KIDS IN JAIL HELD WITHOUT BAIL: REPORT
Neha "suffered probably the most serious injuries," Wagstaffe previously explained.
Witnesses and video footage from the Tom Lantos Tunnel, which Dharmesh drove through before the crash, appeared to show Dharmesh's Tesla driving straight off the cliff without braking or attempting to swerve to safety, according to the DA.
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California officials believe Dharmesh's actions were "intentional."
Authorities are asking additional witnesses to call the CHP-San Francisco Area at 415-557-1094.
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