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Jan. 30, 2023Updated: Jan. 30, 2023 9:56 p.m.
In this photograph provided by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, exigency unit respond to a conveyance implicit the broadside of Highway 1 connected Jan. 1, 2023, successful San Mateo County, Calif. The operator of the car that plunged 250 feet disconnected a cliff successful Northern California, injuring his 2 young children and his wife, has been released from the infirmary and jailed connected suspicion of attempted execution and kid abuse. The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office announced Friday, Jan. 27, 2023, that Dharmesh Patel is being held without bail.
Sgt. Brian Moore, HOGP / Associated PressAfter visiting household successful the Bay Area successful aboriginal January, Dharmesh Patel drove southbound done the Tom Lantos Tunnel with his woman and 2 young kids.
Suddenly, his achromatic Tesla veered onto the ungraded enarthrosis of curvy Highway 1 and the Southern California doc yanked the steering instrumentality to the close without braking, catapulting his car 250 feet disconnected a cliff, according to prosecutors and video evidence.
Statements from his woman — who survived the crash, on with her husband, 7-year-old girl and 4-year-old lad — and motorists driving down Patel, on with videos from the tunnel, led San Mateo County prosecutors to record 3 counts of attempted execution charges Monday against Patel, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. Prosecutors included enhancements for home unit and causing large bodily injuries, according to charging documents.
“We bash judge the grounds establishes the indispensable intent to kill,” Wagstaffe said.
Patel, 40, appeared successful a Redwood City courtroom Monday afternoon, but his defence lawyer asked for a hold until Feb. 9. Patel, appearing successful a holding compartment down a pane of glass, was not disposable from the courtroom’s assemblage arsenic helium communicated with his attorney, Josh Bentley.
Judge Jeffrey Finigan granted the hold and the prosecution’s petition for nary bail and orders that Patel not harass his family.
“I’m not definite helium volition marque it to the microphone,” Bentley told the judge. Patel had been hospitalized for astir a period since the Jan. 2 clang with “serious little assemblage injuries” until helium was released Friday and booked into San Mateo County jail, Wagstaffe said. Patel has not spoken to investigators since the Jan. 2 crash, helium said.
Patel’s woman is inactive hospitalized, Wagstaffe said, and Deputy District Attorney Dominique Davis, who handles home unit cases for the office, told the justice she had not been contacted astir the stay-away orders. Wagstaffe said aft tribunal that the wife’s lawyer told prosecutors that she would speech to investigators lone “when she was physically acceptable to bash so.”
After she was hoisted by chopper from the crumpled car earlier this month, she spoke with paramedics, making “incriminating” statements astir her husband, Wagstaffe said. Motorists besides told investigators they saw nary brake lights connected the Tesla erstwhile it abruptly “made a hard right,” and plunged disconnected the cliff adjacent Devil’s Slide, helium said.
The justice granted Davis’ petition Monday for nary bail citing the “potential information to household members.”
Wagstaffe said his bureau was inactive looking into wherefore Patel drove disconnected the cliff.
“We’re looking into what led up to this. Was determination slump oregon thing else?” Wagstaffe said. “It wasn’t conscionable that helium was trying to termination them, helium was trying to termination himself too.”
CHP investigators are inactive examining the car, helium said, but truthful acold nary problems person been determined.
“Nothing recovered yet,” Wagstaffe said.
Neha Patel and her husband, Dharmesh, airs for a selfie connected Nov. 3, 2019 arsenic shown successful a Facebook post.
Facebook Neha PatelWagstaffe said the Tesla was not successful self-driving mode astatine the clip of the clang and they recovered nary videos from the vehicle. All 4 household members were buckled into their spot belts astatine the time.
The girl suffered a superior injury, portion the lad escaped with conscionable bruises, Wagstaffe said, calling the family’s endurance from the clang “stunning.” The children person been staying with 1 of Patel’s sisters, helium said.
California Highway Patrol officers arrested Patel, a Pasadena radiologist, the time aft the clang astatine Stanford hospital. CHP investigators turned their lawsuit implicit to prosecutors connected Jan. 6 and his bureau has spent much than 3 weeks firming up their prosecution. Because Patel was hospitalized during that time, investigators had the luxury to instrumentality their clip connected the probe. Once helium was transported to San Mateo County jailhouse successful Redwood City connected Friday and booked, prosecutors had to record charges wrong 2 concern days.
Firefighters responded to the clang astir 10:50 a.m. Jan. 2 and recovered the crumpled car astatine the bottommost of a steep cliff. Photos of the wreck amusement the car landed connected its wheels and connected a adust information of formation retired of scope of crashing waves. Firefighters pulled the 2 children up the elevation and a chopper rescued the parents.
Patel worked astatine Providence Holy Cross Medical Center arsenic a doc of radiology. According to his aesculapian license, helium graduated from Wayne State University School of Medicine successful 2008.
The L.A. Times reported the Patel household lived connected a quiescent residential artifact of single-family homes successful Pasadena. Patel would walk retired cookies to neighbors. His woman started a wide substance thread for neighbors to enactment successful contact.
Patel’s woman posted photos of her hubby and the children connected societal media — the astir caller showing what appears to beryllium her girl kissing her younger member connected the cheek.
In different post, his woman joked astir her husband’s absorption to a connection connected the world TV amusement “The Bachelorette.”
“So Dharmy,” idiosyncratic responded, utilizing a nickname for Patel.
In November 2019, the woman took a selfie with her hubby from a pier, the mates smiling into the camera, arsenic the Pacific Ocean rolled beneath them.
Matthias Gafni is simply a San Francisco Chronicle unit writer. Email: matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mgafni
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