The wife of a California radiologist reportedly told paramedics that her husband drove their Tesla over a cliff in the state with the intention of killing her and the rest of their family.
On Monday, Dharmesh Patel, 42, was charged with three counts of attempted murder in connection with the January 2 crash that wounded his 41-year-old wife Neha Patel as well as their children, a seven-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy.
Following the horrific plunge down the 250-foot cliff, Neha is reported to have told paramedics that "he intentionally tried to kill us," San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told People.
"She made that statement when asked, 'What happened? What happened?'" Wagstaffe said. "'He intentionally tried to kill us.' … We have multiple people who heard her say that."
Neha, who is still in hospital, "didn't get into detail. She was then quickly rendered medical aid and that was the statements from her," he noted, adding that the mom hasn't been interviewed since then.
"She has an attorney and we're being advised that, through the attorney, that at this point while she's hospitalized, she does not seek to submit to an interview," he said.
Wagstaffe says one of the couple's injured children was rushed to hospital after the incident. Meanwhile, the other child sustained "bumps and bruises, but no injuries."
The ordeal took place on the Devil's Slide in San Mateo County, near Pacifica, along Highway 1, which runs the length of California's coastline. It is infamous for being a site where several tragedies have occurred over a number of decades.
Dharmesh, a radiologist from Pasadena, was detained by police following the crash, according to an arrest report by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) that People obtained.
The CHP revealed in a news release that it was informed about a vehicle being "over the side of the cliff on SR-1" around 10:50 AM local time on January 2.
Wagstaffe says that after the incident, officials spoke to "two separate drivers behind him who watched what occurred and were able to provide information about lack of brake lights."
Officials also found footage from the nearby Tom Lantos tunnels that "clearly shows his car coming out of the tunnel, going up the hill, making a right turn off the road into a dirt area at the top. And then a sharp right turn down and over the edge and down the cliff."
Wagstaffe said police are still trying to work out a potential motive.
"There were three people that we believe he was trying to kill," he said. "He also wanted to kill himself, obviously. And so, that was an effort to be a murder-suicide."
"Why would he do this? I'm now convinced that this was an intentional act by him," he added. "But then, why did he do this? Why did he want to kill the three people he, one would assume, loved the most in human life?"
