Dad accused of driving Tesla off 250-foot cliff with family, California cops say

A Tesla plunged 250 feet off a Highway 1 cliff to smash on the rocks below, injuring two people but leaving two children unhurt, California authorities reported.

California Highway Patrol officers later arrested the driver, Dharmesh A. Patel, 41, of Pasadena, on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse, KRON reported.

Police said Patel intentionally drove the Tesla off the cliff with his wife and two children inside, KTVU reported.

The solo crash was reported at 10:50 a.m. Monday, Jan. 2, near Devils Slide in San Mateo County, rescuers told KNTV.

“As I’m driving by, I’m like, ‘Wow, he’s driving extremely fast to take that exit. You’re not even supposed to be going up that way,’” witness Robin Johnson told the station. “And I can see in my rear-view mirror this car that just (went) over the edge and straight down.”

“The car plunged hundreds of feet down the cliff and landed on the beach,” the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said on Twitter,

The Tesla flipped several times as it fell but landed on its wheels, a CalFire firefighter said in a video posted to Twitter. Rescuers rappelled down to first rescue the children inside, then helicopters hoisted the injured adults to safety.

“We were actually very shocked when we found (survivors) in the vehicle,” the firefighter said.

Two adults in the vehicle had non-life-threatening injuries and two children were not hurt, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office reported.

Sheriff’s officials said the children are ages 9 and 4, KRON reported. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Devils Slide is about 20 miles south of San Francisco.

This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 7:13 AM with the headline "Dad accused of driving Tesla off 250-foot cliff with family, California cops say."