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Published 16:01 31 Jan 2023 GMT
A man accused of plunging a Tesla car off a cliff with his family inside has been jailed on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse.
As reported by CNN, a 41-year-old father named Dharmesh Patel, from California has been apprehended with three counts of attempted murder after he allegedly drove his vehicle with his wife and two children inside off Devil's Slide along the Pacific Coast highway.
The outlet shared that prosecutors accused Patel of intentionally steering his car off the cliff, sending his family plunging to a rocky beach below. Fortunately, all four family members survived the crash.
Steve Wagstaffe, San Mateo County District Attorney, revealed during a news conference that two of the three counts against the father - who is a radiologist - come with domestic violence and bodily injury enhancements, per the publication.
According to an arrest report by the California Highway Patrol obtained by People, Patel was arrested at Stanford Hospital earlier this month.
The outlet stated that the patrol disclosed that the radiologist and his family were discovered after police officers were notified of "a vehicle over the side of the cliff on SR-1" around 10:50 AM on January 2.
The filing added that Patel's 41-year-old wife sustained "major injuries" along with the couple's seven-year-old child, however, Wagstaffe remarked that the four-year-old "came out with just some bruises, and that does not qualify for significant bodily injury," per CNN.
In addition to this, Brian Pottenger, a battalion chief for Coastside Fire Protection District/Cal Fire, revealed that the Tesla seemed to have been "flipped several times" before landing on a beach on its wheels, per People.
The publication revealed that law enforcement saw "movement in the front seat" when they arrived at the unfortunate scene and said: "We knew we had at least one person that was alive," adding, "We were actually very shocked."
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, the DA informed people that investigators are examining the car's Model Y to rule out the possibility of a mechanical issue in the vehicle.
"Did the brakes fail? Were the brakes working? Were there any other mechanical malfunctions that would have led to him not being able to stop the vehicle?", Wagstaffe said in the interview. "We're having the car looked at from top to bottom."
Patel appeared in San Mateo County court on January 30 and did not enter a plea. He is now expected to be at his next court appearance on February 9.
Superior court judge Jeffrey Finigan ordered the father to be held without bail. His attorney Joshua Bentley said he intends to bring a motion on bail at a later date.
