41-year-old Dharmesh Patel from Pasadena has been arrested and charged with attempted murder and child abuse as cops suspect he intentionally drove his Tesla off a cliff in California with his two children and wife inside. The vehicle reportedly fell 250 feet before colliding with the rocks just feet from the Pacific Coast Highway on Monday morning, but miraculously, the family managed to survive.
In a statement made by the California Highway Patrol, however, there appears to be a reason to believe that Patel, a well-known physician, may have purposely driven the car off the cliff. “CHP investigators worked throughout the night interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence from the scene,” they said.
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“Based on the evidence collected, investigators developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act.” Investigators have also ruled out the possibility that Patel’s Tesla may have been in Autopilot mode when it crashed, further doubling down on their beliefs that Patel allegedly had a particular motive which they hope to uncover as the investigation continues.
Law enforcement officers are just as interested to learn more about the relationship between Patel and his wife, Neha, to determine whether any issues in their marriage could have resulted in the way things transpired while the family was traveling in the car.
Patel, who works as a radiologist at the Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, will be called for questioning once he’s released from the hospital, while a statement released by the health center he works for said the following, “Providence Holy Cross Medical Center 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.”
Longtime neighbors of the Patel family said they were stunned by the news of their car crash, saying that the couple are the “ideal” type of neighbors one would want to have in their community, indicating that they were very much loved and respected in their neighborhood.
Each family member was listed in critical condition until paramedics arrived at the scene, realizing that all four individuals were responding and conscious when they were pulled from the wreck. “We go there all the time for cars over the cliff and they never live. This was an absolute miracle,” chief for Coastside Fire Protection District Brian Pottenger said.