CA - Tesla crash off cliff shocked rescuers, Dr. dad arrested for attempted murder of family, Devil’s Slide, Jan 2023

[SouthAussie]

I wonder if he said anything to her before driving off the cliff or if it was just explicitly obvious and he didn't try to hide what he was doing, like yanked the wheel really dramatically or something. Maybe in the shock of still being alive and his plan going so "wrong" he confessed on the spot after questioning. I'm so happy for the wife and her children that they made it, but what an absolutely devastating and life-altering experience for her. Thank god she has both of her kids alive and well still. I hope that piece of scum calling himself her husband absolutely rots.

He did a u-turn and then drove off the cliff. That probably seemed very intentional. Along with any details his wife and/or children may have been able to add.

Radiologist gave neighbors plants before 'driving family off cliff'

Footage from a neighbor's doorbell camera shows Dr. Dharmesh A. Patel, 42, walking over the street to deliver the red plants to his neighbors in Pasadena on Christmas Eve.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[technicallymissing]

He did a u-turn and then drove off the cliff. That probably seemed very intentional. Along with any details his wife and/or children may have been able to add.

View attachment 392697

Radiologist gave neighbors plants before 'driving family off cliff'

Footage from a neighbor's doorbell camera shows Dr. Dharmesh A. Patel, 42, walking over the street to deliver the red plants to his neighbors in Pasadena on Christmas Eve.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Wow, he didn't even have the mercy (totally not the right word here, but for lack of a better one) to make it seem like an accident. He was completely okay with his wife spending (what he thought would be) her last moments fully aware that he wanted her and their kids to die. And the kids! 7 and 4 is absolutely old enough to recognize their father's intention. Evil.

 

[SamH123]

It might not be pre-meditated
Maybe they were arguing and he snapped during the argument, spur of the moment thing

Although it would be convenient there was an opportunity to drive off the cliff at that time

 

[mickey2942]

Pretty amazing, the Tesla seems like a small car, not safe in an accident, yet all four people survived the 300 foot plunge down a cliff. Aside from the terrible circumstances, that is a fantastic testimony to how safe the Tesla is...

Glad everyone survived and the perpetrator is heading to jail soon.

 

[iamshadow21]

It might not be pre-meditated
Maybe they were arguing and he snapped during the argument, spur of the moment thing

Although it would be convenient there was an opportunity to drive off the cliff at that time

He had to U turn first. It's not like he just yanked the wheel in the heat of the moment. He literally turned that car around and drove off the cliff, knowing the danger of death to everyone in that car. That's a choice, and that's premeditation.

MOO

 

[arielilane]

Its truly a miracle that the family survived. Can’t imagine what went wrong leading up to the crash. IMO

 

[LordMo]

Pretty amazing, the Tesla seems like a small car, not safe in an accident, yet all four people survived the 300 foot plunge down a cliff. Aside from the terrible circumstances, that is a fantastic testimony to how safe the Tesla is...

Glad everyone survived and the perpetrator is heading to jail soon.

apparently this is like one of the only use cases where the Tesla is particularly safe, something about how weight is distributed and the frame is modified because it doesn't have to make room for the parts of a more traditional combustion-based car. Someone tried to explain to me in detail and my eyes glazed over.

thank god it didn't catch on fire.

 

[Jinkasaurus]

I can't imagine what must be going through this guy's head (assuming this was intentional). It would take some nerve to work yourself up to that moment where you drive over the edge - plus would be scary as hell - thinking its all going to go black, end of story. Then you wake up and realize not only are you alive but so is your entire family. I'm sure he wishes the crash would have killed him.

But he is one of these a-holes who I absolutely despise who decide they have to take their family out with them. There was another one on the news today out of Utah, a family of seven. Five kids plus the mother-in-law and wife. These types of men disgust me.

 

[HMSHood]

Falling off a cliff is scary. I wonder why Dr. Dharmesh A. Patel would intentionally drive off the cliff. Read the articles and he had run-ins with police. A miracle everyone survived.

 

[LadyL]

I would think this one might be pretty hard to prove unless he has a history as a domestic abuser, had made threats before and/or the kids and wife are talking and indicating it was done on purpose.

yeah I'm going with the wife talked

 

[Kaley Smith]

I'm wondering what made them believe it was a deliberate act. We'll find out in time, I guess.

The Tesla is very computerized. I wonder if it records and stores data somewhere like the black box of an airplane does?

 

[Kaley Smith]

The Tesla is very computerized. I wonder if it records and stores data somewhere like the black box of an airplane does?

I just looked it up and found this:
But Tesla collects more information than most.

• It knows your speed, your mileage, and where and when you charge the battery.
• It also monitors airbag deployments, braking and acceleration, which helps in accident investigations.

 

[LuckE0303]

Falling off a cliff is scary. I wonder why Dr. Dharmesh A. Patel would intentionally drive off the cliff. Read the articles and he had run-ins with police. A miracle everyone survived.

I thought I had read everything posted on this thread but I didn't see anything related to run in's with the police aside from calls in 2017 related to concerns of possible people lurking or casing the house for a break in. Aside from that I didn't see anything related to him having run in's. Can you direct me to that article?

 

[whiterhino]

Incredible, it's a miracle the family survived!

What a piece of garbage to do something so terrifying to your own children.

They will live with that forever which is, in a twisted way, a blessing

 

[scriabina]

"...cops were called Patel's family home in Pasadena nine times since 2017 in response to burglary alarms and reports of suspicious people in the vicinity."

So was the husband paranoid? Mentally ill? Calling cops 9 times over 5-6 years is a lot, and I'm sure they live in a nice neighborhood.

Or were these actual domestic abuse situations and the wife called for help citing potential intruders because she didn't want get her husband in trouble but she was also afraid for her & her kids' lives...

I doubt mental illness actually played a role in this evil man's deplorable actions, but I'm sure with his prominent position and fancy lawyers he'll get away with it. Probably "not guilty by reason of insanity" defense. I hope I'm wrong and he rots in jail for the rest of his life. There is no way someone who tries to kill their wife and TWO CHILDREN deserves a second chance.

 

[arielilane]

An Indian American doctor, who was arrested after driving off his Tesla into a 250 feet cliff Monday, will be tried for attempted murder and child abuse, according to the California Highway Patrol. The 41-year-old Dharmesh Arvind Patel, his wife Neha, also 41, and their two children — 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old-son — survived the fall off the picturesque Highway 1 at Devil’s Slide in San Mateo County, 20 miles to the south of San Francisco.


Police believe Patel, a radiologist at the Providence Holy Cross Medical Center, deliberately tried to kill himself and his family members. He was arrested while being treated at Stanford Hospital.

Indian American doctor Dharmesh Patel arrested after driving wife, kids off a 250-foot cliff

Patel, a radiologist, wife and their children — daughter, 7, and son, 4 — survive the plunge.

www.americanbazaaronline.com

 

[arielilane]

Every day am simply amazed by the work and dedication LE and EMT (firefighters, first responders) provide in order to save and protect lives.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Man who allegedly tried to kill family, failed due to Tesla batteries

The alleged murder suicide plotted by a doctor that involved driving his car off of a cliff with his family inside likely failed because of his Tesla's batteries preventing the car from flipping.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Knox]

Man who allegedly tried to kill family, failed due to Tesla batteries

The alleged murder suicide plotted by a doctor that involved driving his car off of a cliff with his family inside likely failed because of his Tesla's batteries preventing the car from flipping.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Those rocks don't look like "pebbles & sand, but regardless - the weight of the batteries preventing the car from flipping on the way down makes sense.

Thank God they all survived!!

 

[mzmarymac]

OK. Glad to see a thread here for this case, because it is an amazing case. Not only did the mom and those precious children survive, the father did as well! Now hear me out. How often do we see stories (like Utah) where they are all dead and we have to wonder what was going through their minds? When they do survive it's because they are trying to get away with it (Waitts) or they pretended to be a victim. But how often are we fortunate enough to not only have all of the victims survive, but also the maniac who did it? Handled properly, this could be an excellent text book case to study. I hope they can find a way to pick through his crazy brain and try to gleen any sort of insight into how we might be able to prevent these things from happening. See the signs better, etc... My heart goes out to the mom and children and pray they make full and speedy recoveries and are able to find peace in their lives.