Global Courant 2023-05-18 18:55:22
California radiologist Dharmesh Patel was “depressed” and “purposefully drove off” a cliff in his Tesla with his family inside, his wife, Neha Patel, told investigators in January.
Dharmesh Patel, 41, of Pasadena, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder on Monday after he allegedly drove himself, his wife and their two children — the 4-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl — off Devil’s Slide in the near California Highway 1 in his Tesla.
“He drove off. He’s depressed. He’s a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He drove off on purpose,” Neha Patel told investigators, according to a recently unsealed affidavit obtained by The San Francisco Chronicle.
Dharmesh claimed at the time that he went off the road to check for a flat tire, the affidavit said. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
DHARMESH PATEL: SON OF CALIFORNIA DOCTOR WHO HAS FAMILY OF KLIP HAD ‘NO INJURIES’ AFTER FALL
Dharmesh Patel is charged with three counts of attempted murder after allegedly driving himself and his family off a cliff in California. (Facebook/San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office)
California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer Mark Andrew said on Jan. 3 that he did not believe the Tesla was on autopilot at the time of the crash near Devil’s Slide cliff, south of the Tom Lantos tunnels on State Highway 1 .
First responders who arrived at the scene on January 2 saw the white Tesla about 80 meters down the cliff and saw victims still moving around in the vehicle.
DRAMATIC VIDEO SHOWS CALIFORNIA HELICOPTER RESCUE AFTER TESLA STOPS OFF THE ‘DEVIL’S SLIDE’ CLIFF
Rescuers were able to pull the couple’s two children from the vehicle using a “jaws of life” tool and pulled Patel and his wife out of the vehicle’s windows. The boy had no physical injuries, Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe previously told Fox News Digital.
In this photo taken by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, emergency responders respond to a vehicle on the side of Highway 1 in San Mateo County, California on Jan. 1, 2023. (Sergeant Brian Moore/San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office via AP; File)
The 7-year-old girl, who was also in a child seat, suffered “significant” injuries but was released from hospital “quite soon” and will not have any “long-term” physical complications, the OM was told.
CALIFORNIA DOCTOR WHO DID TESLA WITH WOMAN OF THE CLIFF, 2 CHILDREN IN PRISON WITHOUT BAIL: REPORT
Neha “probably suffered the most serious injuries,” Wagstaffe previously explained.
Witnesses and video footage from the Tom Lantos tunnel, which Patel drove through before the crash, appeared to show that Patel’s Tesla drove straight off the cliff without braking or attempting to make it to safety, the prosecutor said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
California officials believe Patel’s actions were “intentional.”
Authorities are asking for additional witnesses to call the CHP-San Francisco Area at 415-557-1094.
Audrey Conklin is a digital reporter for Fox News Digital and FOX Business. Email tips to [email protected] or on Twitter at @audpants.
