A doctor from Pasadena has officially been arrested and charged after allegedly driving his family off of a California cliff near the ocean Monday around 10:50 a.m.
Dharmesh Patel, a 41-year-old physician from Pasadena, will be booked on attempted murder and child abuse charges once he is out of a hospital, the California Highway Patrol said in a statement.
“CHP investigators worked throughout the night interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence from the scene,” the highway patrol said in a statement.
“Based on the evidence collected, investigators developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act.”
Patel was driving a Tesla that contained his wife, and two young children– a 7-year-old girl and 4-year-old boy. Everyone miraculously survived the 250 feet plunge off what locals call the “Devil’s Slide.” The vehicle apparently flipped several times before coming to rest on its wheels.
Investigators have not yet determined what driving mode the Tesla was in — including whether it had its Autopilot function on — but don’t believe the mode contributed to the crash, CBS News reported.
“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 Monday.
First responders set up a rope system from the highway to lower firefighters down the cliff, Pottenger said.
At the same time, other firefighters using binoculars suddenly noticed movement from the mangled vehicle — and an incident that appeared to be a recovery of bodies turned to a frantic rescue operation amid rain, heavy winds and crashing waves.
The children were rushed to the hospital by ambulance with musculoskeletal injuries and the parents had traumatic injuries.
Patel is listed as a radiologist at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in the Mission Hills area of Los Angeles, KABC reported. They left a statement after the driver of the vehicle was revealed.
“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,” the hospital told the outlet in a statement Tuesday.
“We will not respond further, as this incident is under investigation,” it added.
Several neighbors of the Patels were shocked to hear of the crash and according to them, they never saw any warning signs.
“They’re like ideal neighbors. It seemed like they had a great holiday, they went to go see both parents. It just seemed very happy and great,” Sarah Walker told KABC.
This remains an ongoing investigation and no further information is being released at this time,” the CHP said.
