A California man was transferred from a hospital to a San Mateo County jail on Tuesday after he was suspected of improperly driving a Tesla off a cliff on January 2 with his wife and two children inside.
At a press conference on Monday, San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe announced that 41-year-old Pasadena resident Dharmesh Patel had been charged with attempted first-degree attempted murder, child abuse, and the accompanying enhancements for serious bodily injury and domestic violence.
A San Mateo judge on Monday reportedly accepted a plea to hold Patel without bail in the Maguire Correctional Facility, citing the risk he poses to his family, according to San Francisco Chronicle reporter Matthias Gafni.
Gafni reports that the attorney for the 41-year-old doctor sought for a postponement of Monday’s scheduled arraignment. According to reports, the judge issued restraining orders protecting Patel’s loved ones.
The man suspected of attempted murder and child abuse, and whose car went 250 feet off a cliff in Northern California, has been released from the hospital and is now in jail. He was driving with his two young children and his wife.
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California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Mark Andrew indicated on Jan. 3 that he did not believe the Tesla was on autopilot at the time of the crash off the ‘Devil’s Slide’ cliff, south of the Tom Lantos tunnels on State Highway 1. On January 2, first responders came to find a white Tesla about 250 feet down the cliff with victims still inside.
Using a “jaws of life” instrument, rescuers extracted the two children, a girl aged 7 and a boy aged 4, both of whom had musculoskeletal injuries, from the vehicle. They also extracted Patel and his wife from the vehicle’s windows.
A fire official said that four persons are in critical condition after a Tesla they were riding in drove down a cliff on the Pacific Coast Highway in Northern California on Monday, January 2, 2023.
“We frequently visit the location in search of vehicles that have gone over the edge of the cliff, but we have never had any success. Simply put, this was a miracle “According to Coastside Fire Protection District/Cal Fire Battalion Chief Brian Pottenger, shortly after the accident.
Authorities are “having the car looked at from top to bottom,” as District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe told The Los Angeles Times, to investigate if any technical problems contributed to the incident.