Wife claimed husband drove Tesla off cliff ‘on purpose’ after family miraculously survived horrific fall
The wife whose husband drove a Tesla off a cliff in California after his family miraculously survived a horrific fall has claimed he did it 'on purpose'.
The man has since been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse after the vehicle plunged 250ft off a cliffside earlier this year (2 January).
While all four passengers - two adults and two children - incredibly survived the fall, which took place in an area dubbed 'Devil’s Slide', the wife of the driver has since alleged the crash was no accident.
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The driver, Dharmesh Arvind Patel, 41, was arrested and booked on attempted murder and child abuse charges following the horrifying incident.
Charging documents show that the other adult in the car at the time was a 41-year-old woman, while the two children were a girl, aged seven, and a boy, aged four.
And now, some five months on, a San Mateo County judge has released new documents revealing the alarming details surrounding the Tesla car crash and the man accused of driving the car containing his entire family off the side of the 300-foot cliff.
Patel pleaded not guilty to charges he tried to commit suicide and kill his wife and two children.
At the time of the incident, Patel's wife told a paramedic her husband intentionally veered off the road and, after unsealing the court documents, it was found she told law enforcement officers the same thing.
A California Highway Patrol officer reported that the 'confidential victim' said: "He drove off. He’s depressed. He’s a doctor. He said he was going to drive off the cliff. He drove off on purpose," the district attorney's office confirmed.
Court documents obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle also outline that Patel told his wife he was depressed about the future of his children and the war.
While the wife has not said much on the matter since, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said what she told law enforcement at the time will assist prosecutors regardless of whether or not she decides to cooperate further.
Wagstaffe explained: "It’s certainly important because we do believe what she said at the time, under the stress of the circumstances, is both reliable and truthful, but we are hoping she will come forward to see that justice is done."
Patel has fervently denied the allegations and, instead, maintains he teetered off the edge of the cliff after checking for a possible flat tire.
Wagstaffe, however, has his doubts about Patel's testimony.
He said: "Without going into specifics, there is a video taken from the tunnel they came through that shows the vehicle that, I think, contradicts that statement."
Legal analyst, Dean Johnson, has since said that the wife's statements may be admissible in court.
"They’re the kind of statements that you don’t really have the time or the state of mind to make them up," he said.
"So the court gives these great weight and, generally, these kinds of spontaneous admissions, especially to law enforcement, are reliable."
The preliminary hearing which will make the video footage from the crash public is set to commence next month (12 June).
UNILAD has reached out to Tesla for comment.
Rhiannon Ingle