Man Intentionally Drives Tesla Off California Cliff With Wife And 2 Kids Inside, Officials Say

A California man purportedly drove his Tesla off a 250-foot cliff with his wife and two children inside the vehicle in an alleged attempt to kill his family, officials said Tuesday.

The driver of the Tesla, identified as 41-year-old Dharmesh Arvind Patel of Pasadena, his wife, 41, and children, aged 4 and 7, survived the crash and were rescued at Devil's Slide in San Mateo County on Monday, NBC reported.

"CHP investigators worked throughout the night interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence from the scene," the California Highway Patrol (CHP) said in a statement, according to the outlet. "Based on the evidence collected, investigators developed probable cause to believe this incident was an intentional act," it added.

Patel was placed under arrest Monday night at Stanford Hospital, where he was being treated for injuries he got in the crash. The California Highway Patrol said that once the man is released from the hospital, he will be booked into San Mateo County Jail on three counts of attempted murder and two counts of child abuse.

CHP officers responded to the crash at 10:50 a.m. Monday after receiving reports of a vehicle that had plunged into a cliff on Highway 1, just south of the Tom Lantos tunnels. The car was traveling on State Route 1 when it plunged down the cliff at Devil's Slide and landed near the water's edge. It flipped a couple of times before landing on its wheels.

Firefighters rappelled down the cliff and rescued the two adults, including Patel and his wife, along with their two children, LA Times reported. While the adults suffered traumatic injuries while children had moderate injuries, officials added.

Brian Pottenger, incident commander for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said it was "very, very rare" for people to survive such a deep fall.

"We go there all the time for cars over the cliff and they never live. This was an absolute miracle," Pottenger was quoted as saying by ABC7News. "We were actually very shocked when we found survivable victims in the vehicle. So that actually was a hopeful moment for us."

Based on an initial investigation, the California Highway Patrol didn't believe the Tesla was operating in Autopilot or Full Self-Driving mode at the time of the crash.

Patel is reportedly listed as a doctor at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills. The medical center issued a statement Tuesday, saying, "Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is deeply saddened to learn of a traffic incident involving one of our physicians and his family. We are extremely grateful there were no serious injuries. We will not respond further, as this incident is under investigation."