Dharmesh Patel: California doctor accused of driving family off cliff seen in new mugshot after hospital stay

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California doctor facing attempted murder charges after 'intentionally' driving family off cliff

Patel, 41, of Pasadena, is charged with three counts of attempted first-degree attempted murder, as well as enhancements for great bodily injury and domestic abuse.

A new mugshot shows Dharmesh Patel, a California doctor accused of intentionally driving a Tesla off a cliff on Jan. 2 with his wife and two children inside the vehicle, with a bloodshot eye after he was transported to a San Mateo County jail from the hospital.

Patel, 41, of Pasadena, is charged with three counts of attempted first-degree attempted murder, as well as enhancements for great bodily injury and domestic abuse, San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said during a Monday press conference.

"The evidence supports that he intentionally drove that vehicle over that cliff," San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said during a Monday press conference after Patel's initial court hearing.

Patel will enter a plea on Feb. 9 and is currently being held without bail.

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This undated photo provided by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office shows Dharmesh Patel. Patel the driver of a car that plunged off a treacherous cliff in northern California, seriously injuring himself, his wife and their two young children, has been charged with attempted murder.  (San Mateo County Sheriff's Office via AP)

"We're hoping to lean more when, hopefully, the wife is…available for an interview and is willing to speak with us at that point," Wagstaffe added.

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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.

Dr. Dharmesh A. Patel is accused of intentionally driving his wife and their two children off a cliff. All four miraculously survived but remain hospitalized.  (Facebook)

First responders who arrived at the scene on Jan. 2 noticed the white Tesla about 250 feet down the cliff and noticed victims still moving inside the vehicle. 

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Rescuers were able to pull the two children — a 7-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy with musculoskeletal injuries — from the vehicle using a "jaws of life" tool and pulled Patel and his wife from the vehicle's windows.

This image from video provided by San Mateo County Sheriff's Office shows a Tesla vehicle that plunged off a Northern California cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, near an area known as Devil's Slide. (San Mateo County Sheriff's Office via AP)

"We go there all the time for cars over the cliff, and they never live. This was an absolute miracle," Brian Pottenger, a battalion chief for Coastside Fire Protection District/Cal Fire, said after the crash.

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District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told The Los Angeles Times that authorities are "having the car looked at from top to bottom" to determine whether the car may have experienced any mechanical issues during the crash.

The driver of the car that plunged 250 feet off a cliff in Northern California, injuring his two young children and his wife, has been released from the hospital and jailed on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse. (Sgt. Brian Moore/San Mateo County Sheriff's Office )

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California officials believe Patel's actions were "intentional."

Authorities are asking additional witnesses to call the CHP-San Francisco Area at 415-557-1094.

The Associated Press and Fox News' Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.