Wife says doctor husband deliberately drove their Tesla off a cliff with the ... trends now
The wife of a Pasadena doctor charged with the attempted murder of his family told paramedics who rescued them that her husband intentionally drove their Tesla off a 250ft cliff.
Dharmesh A. Patel, 42, was booked into San Mateo County's Maguire Correctional Facility in California and is facing first degree attempted murder and child abuse charges.
Patel's wife, who remains hospitalized, told paramedics 'he intentionally tried to kill us' after they rappelled down the sheer cliff face to rescue the family, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
'She said very simply this was not an accident. We do believe the evidence establishes the necessary intent to kill,' Wagstaffe told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Patel's transfer into jail comes after he also spent three weeks in hospital, having been seriously injured in the crash.
He was scheduled to be arraigned Monday but his lawyer asked for a delay until Feb. 9, which the judge granted. The judge also granted the prosecution's request for no bail and ordered that Patel stay away from his family.
Patel's attorney Josh Bentley did not respond to request for comment from AP.
The wife of Dharmesh A. Patel, 41, told paramedics he intentionally drove their car off a cliff in California with the whole family inside
Miraculously the family of four survived the plunge to the water's edge without sustaining life-threatening injuries. The mangled Tesla Model Y is pictured after the smash
The wreckage of the Tesla is pictured at the bottom of the cliff
Patel is accused of intentionally driving his white Tesla Model Y off a cliff known as Devil's Slide on Monday near San Francisco, during a trip north.
Miraculously, all four members of the family - Patel, his wife Neha and their two children aged four and seven - survived without any serious injuries.
Although he has been accused of attempted murder, last week prosecutors were seeking to rule out the possibility the car's brakes had malfunctioned. Speculation the Tesla may have been in self-driving mode was also ruled out.
'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 told the LA Times. 'We're having the car looked at from top to bottom'.
The DA's office was still in the early stages of the investigation, he added.
Patel was arrested after California Highway Patrol investigators 'developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act,' the agency said.
Wagstaffe said his office was still trying to determine why Patel drove off the cliff. Patel has not spoken to investigators since the Jan. 2 crash, Wagstaffe said.
'We're looking into what led up to this. Was there depression
