41-year-old Dharmesh Patel faces multiple charges after he drove off of a cliff on the Pacific Coast Highway with his wife and two children in the car. All four people survived the wreck, in which the car dove between 250 and 300 feet into a rocky-beach area known as the Devil’s Slide. The occupants were taken to a hospital with serious injuries, though. 

     The white four-door Tesla was traveling south on Highway, south of the Lantos Tunnel, when it veered off of the road. When first responders arrived, all four members were conscious, and the two children were secured in their car seats; everyone was trapped inside the car. Firefighters freed the two children by using a rope to lift them up the cliff in baskets, and later, a California Highway Patrol helicopter carried the two adults to safety. The damage indicated that the car hit the rocks, flipped several times, and came to a rest on its wheels. Based on the evidence, investigators believe the incident was an intentional act. Rescuers believe the family’s survival was a “miracle” due to the severity of the wreck and its location; the site of the incident has been known for fatal wrecks in the past. The names and conditions of Patel’s 41-year-old wife, 7-year-old daughter, and 4-year-old son have not been released. 

     Patel works as a radiologist in Mission Hills, California and is affiliated with Providence Holy Cross Medical Center. He received his medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine and has been in practice between eleven and twenty years. According to an arrest report, he was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and child endangerment. He will be booked into the San Mateo County Jail after his treatment at Stanford Hospital. It is unclear whether Patel has issued a plea to the charges against him or retained a lawyer who can comment for him. Investigators cannot present the case to prosecutors until after Patel is booked into jail.