“very unusual for anyone to survive an accident of this magnitude"
A US Indian man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse after it was alleged that he deliberately drove his Tesla off a cliff with his family still inside.
The car plummeted more than 250 feet off a cliff along the Pacific Coast Highway in Northern California near an area known as Devil’s Slide.
Dharmesh A Patel, of Pasadena, California, was arrested after California Highway Patrol investigators decided there was probable cause that it had been an “intentional act”.
Just before 11 am on January 2, 2023, officers were called to help with the rescue.
The two adults and their two children, a seven-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy, were trapped in the vehicle.
Firefighters brought the children to the road on stretchers and then to a nearby hospital.
Both adults, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, were hoisted onto a helicopter and taken to the highway, where they were transferred to a hospital by air ambulance.
Brian Pottenger, the battalion chief of the Coastside Fire Protection District’s San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit, said the vehicle landed on its wheels, which made the passengers easier to access through the side windows.
He said: “It is very unusual for anyone to survive an accident of this magnitude in this area.”
Shaun Bouyea, a flight officer and paramedic for the California Highway Patrol, said:
“When we came around the corner and looked to the bottom of the cliff, we were shocked that they were actually able to survive.
“Looking at the vehicle, it would appear that everybody would be deceased.”
After interviewing witnesses and analysing the crash site, investigators determined that it had been “an intentional act”.
Investigators do not believe that the Tesla was operating in Autopilot or Full Self-Driving mode at the time of the incident.
Dharmesh A Patel was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse.
He will be transported to San Mateo County Jail after being released from the hospital.
The San Mateo County district attorney said that it had not received the case from the Highway Patrol to determine whether Mr Patel should be charged.
He works as a doctor at Providence Holy Cross Medical Centre in Mission Hills, outside of Los Angeles.
The medical facility said in a statement:
“Providence Holy Cross Medical Centre is deeply saddened to learn of a traffic incident involving one of our physicians and his family.
“We are extremely grateful there were no serious injuries. We will not respond further, as this incident is under investigation.”
Opened in 1937, Devil’s Slide has long been considered perilous, winding along a rocky cliff with a sheer drop-off to the ocean.
Authorities made changes, including adding tunnels that bypass a dangerous portion of the road, but fatalities have continued.
California Highway Patrol Officer Andrew Barclay said:
“Any time we see a vehicle drive off a cliff and down such a steep cliffside, seeing people survive is incredible.”
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