Dharmesh Patel, a 41-year-old man, fell 250 feet down a cliff while driving through Highway 1 in Northern California. Upon rescue along with his wife and children, the police believed his intention was to crash the vehicle to kill his family.
The Accident
The car appeared to be wrecked after its 250-foot fall, but the driver and the passengers did not sustain life-threatening injuries. The passengers included his wife and two young children below the age of ten.
Upon the arrival of a rescue team, they found the victims of the accident alive and conscious. It was considered a miracle since the car flipped multiple times before landing on rocky grounds, according to the Coastside Fire Protection District battalion chief, Brian Pottenger.
He also mentioned that it was unusual for anyone to survive a fall as serious as the accident in question in that area. The highway was dubbed "Devil's Slide" due to its reputation of being a dangerous area to drive through, as mentioned in Gizmodo.
The accident led the car to drop into rocky cliffs down to the beach area of the Pacific Ocean. The vehicle landed upright, which made it easier for the rescue team to access the passengers through the side windows of the car.
This afternoon, deputies responded to a solo vehicle over the side of Hwy 1 south of the Tom Lantos tunnel. Two adults suffered non-life threatening injuries and two children were unharmed. Tremendous collaborative effort btwn SMSO, @CHP_GoldenGate and @calfireSCU pic.twitter.com/sVyKp6LSrc
— San Mateo County Sheriff's Office (@SMCSheriff) January 3, 2023
Tesla's self-driving mode was questioned due to its history of accidents involving the feature, but the California Highway Patrol clarified that it wasn't the reason why the car careened out of the highway and down the cliff.
In the investigation, the crash site was analyzed and witnesses were interviewed, which led to authorities believing that the crash was intentional. The highway patrol spokesperson did not disclose any information why they concluded that the incident was attempted murder.
Read Also : NHTSA Says Self-Driving Cars were Involved in 392 Crashes in 10 Months - How Many were Teslas?
The Rescue
Emergency responders arrived at the scene including a helicopter to help extricate the family from the mangled vehicle. The children did not sustain injuries and were brought up on stretchers by firefighters who rappeled down the cliff. They were taken to the nearby hospital.
The adults were injured, but nothing was life-threatening. They were hoisted onto a helicopter and taken out of the scene of the accident. They were then taken to the road and were sent to a hospital via air ambulance, according to The New York Times.
Since authorities determined that the accident was deliberate, Patel, the father of the family, has been arrested on Monday for attempted murder and child abuse, says the California Highway Patrol of the Golden Gate Division.
Once the father was released from the hospital, he will be sent to the San Mateo County Jail. The Highway Patrol has not given the case to The San Mateo County district yet, which would determine if Patel would be charged with the alleged crime.
The highway where the accident took place has seen dozens of fatal accidents over the past decades, which is why it was deemed a dangerous area to drive through. However, Highway Patrol was still convinced that it was intentional and that the proposed charges were justified.
