The doctor and father accused of intentionally driving his Tesla off a California cliff along with his family inside has been released from a hospital and sent to jail – as investigators explore whether mechanical problems led to the crash.
Dharmesh Patel, 41, who’s being held without bail, could possibly be arraigned Monday afternoon if the San Mateo District Attorney’s Office decides to charge him with attempted murder and child abuse.
Meanwhile, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe last week said investigators are also examining the Tesla Model Y to rule out the potential for a mechanical problem.
“Did the brakes fail? Were the brakes working? Were there some other mechanical malfunctions that will have led to him not having the ability to stop the vehicle?” Wagstaffe told the Los Angeles Times.
“We’re having the automotive checked out from top to bottom,” he told the paper.
Patel, a radiologist at Windfall Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles, is accused of intentionally driving his electric automotive 250 feet off the notorious section of the Pacific Coast Highway often called the “Devil’s Slide” on Jan. 2.
A motive has not been released, though the California Highway Patrol “developed probable cause to imagine this incident was an intentional act,” officials have said.
Firefighters were forced to chop the family, including Patel’s 41-year-old wife, Neha, 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son, out of the wreckage.
The case shocked neighbors, who described the Patels as an “idyllic” family that lived at the tip of a quiet cul-de-sac in Pasadena.
With Post wires
