In this photo provided by the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, emergency personnel respond to a vehicle over the side of Highway 1 on Jan. 2, 2023, in San Mateo County, Calif. The driver of the car that plunged 250 feet off a cliff in Northern California, injuring his two young children and his wife, has been released from the hospital and jailed on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse. The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday, Jan.
Dharmesh Patel — a radiologist from Pasadena — has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder. His attorney, Joshua Bentley, did not return a request for comment on Wednesday. According to Sapien’s affidavit, Patel said he was “not really depressed” and just “felt down” because “times were bad in the world.” Asked if he felt suicidal, Patel said “you know, not like a plan, not usually.”
Three witnesses said the Tesla didn’t slow down as it traveled up the dirt road and then off the cliff. One witness said she didn’t see the car brake after it made a right turn and went up a dirt road off the highway. Another witness said the car left the highway “facing 90 degrees,” went up the dirt road toward an old military bunker and accelerated into a right turn and then off the cliff.“The tire marks are consistent with a vehicle making a gradual right turn,” the affidavit says.