PICTURED: Doctor who intentionally drove family off cliff in their Tesla
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PICTURED: California radiologist, 42, charged with attempted murder after intentionally driving wife and two children off ‘Devil’s Side’ cliff in his Tesla: Family miraculously survived 250-foot drop
- Dharmesh A. Patel, 42, is charged with attempted murder and child abuse
- California police say he intentionally drove the Tesla off the side of a cliff
- His wife and two children, ages four and seven, were inside the vehicle but survived.
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The Pasadena doctor charged with the attempted murder of his wife and two young children by intentionally throwing his Tesla over the side of a 250-foot cliff has been photographed for the first time today.
Dharmesh A. Patel works as a radiologist at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Pasadena.
He is accused of intentionally driving his white Tesla Model Y off a cliff known as Devil’s Side on Monday.
Initially, there were fears that the car, which is famous for its self-driving technology, had gone rogue and mistakenly run the family off the road.
Now, some are wondering if the vehicle, which has airbags adjacent to the two front seats as well as in front of them, really saved them.
Dharmesh A. Patel works as a radiologist at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Pasadena. He is charged with attempted murder and child abuse for allegedly intentionally throwing his wife and his two children off a Pasadena cliff in his Tesla.
The family somehow miraculously survived a 250 foot fall from the road over the edge of a cliff known as ‘Devil’s Side’
There is no indication that the car was in autonomous driving mode when it went off the road. The car’s interiors remained largely intact despite the heavy drop.
Miraculously, all four survived without serious injury; The couple’s two children, a boy and a girl aged four and seven, were uninjured and neither Patel nor his wife were seriously injured.
On Tuesday, police charged Patel with attempted murder. They say it was a murder suicide attempt gone wrong.
The 42-year-old man remains in the San Mateo County Jail today. It is not clear if his wife and children are still receiving treatment at the hospital or if they have been released.
Neighbors described Patel and his wife as “the sweetest couple” with “the two most wonderful children.” He’s still in jail today.
Neighbors told CBS News of their shock after learning of the allegations against Patel.
Roger Newmark, who lives several houses down from the family on a tree-lined street in Pasadena, said: “They are the sweetest couple and they have two great little boys.”
The hospital where Patel works issued a statement Tuesday.
‘Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is deeply saddened to learn of a traffic incident involving one of our physicians and his family.
“We are very grateful that there were no serious injuries. We will not respond further as this incident is under investigation.”
Among those who commented on the case was Tesla founder Elon Musk. In response to a tweet about how the family survived, Musk said: “Good news.”
His fans say the fact that they all survived is proof of how safe Tesla vehicles are.
Police have yet to complete their investigation into the crash and have yet to confirm why they believe the family survived.