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Dharmesh Patel: Son, 4, of doctor who allegedly drove family off cliff escaped without any injuries after 250 feet plunge

The boy’s sister, 7, had ‘significant’ injuries but got discharged from hospital ‘fairly quickly’ and will not have ‘long-term’ physical complications

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA: The four-year-old son of a California doctor accused of intentionally driving his family off a cliff on Monday, January 2, reportedly suffered no injuries after the 250-feet drop. Dharmesh Patel, 41, was charged with three counts of first-degree attempted murder after allegedly driving himself, his 41-year-old wife, and two children aged seven and four off an infamous stretch of highway known as Devil's Slide near California Highway 1 in his Tesla.

San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe confirmed that the child was not hurt at all. "Everybody's been talking about … how only a Tesla could drop 250 feet and everybody survives. Well, for the 4-year-old [boy] who was in a child seat, no injuries at all," the District Attorney told Fox News Digital. "…Every parent ought to keep that in mind." The seven-year-old girl, who was also in a child seat, had "significant" injuries but got discharged from the hospital "fairly quickly" and will not have "long-term" physical complications, the DA's office was told, as per the outlet.

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Is Dharmesh Patel's wife Neha OK? 

"It's a shocker," Wagstaffe added. " … I've seen all the photos and video of the car at the bottom, and … knowing that area, knowing that cliff, my belief is that those four people — every single day for the rest of their lives — that they wake up in the morning, they should say thank you." Patel's wife, Neha Patel, appears to be the only victim who is still recovering at the hospital. Meanwhile, Wagstaffe is hoping that once in a stable condition, she might be willing to tell authorities about what happened that day as well as in the days that lead up to Patel's alleged murder-suicide attempt in detail. 

Neha apparently told the paramedics immediately after the crash that, "He tried to kill us," and, "He intentionally drove off the side," Wagstaffe told People. "What we don't have is any further description of that because they immediately told her, ‘Calm down. We need to give you medical attention,’ because she suffered probably the most serious injuries," the DA further explained.

Witnesses say Patel 'intentionally' drove off the cliff

Witnesses and acquired video footage back up Neha’s initial comments to the paramedics. The acquired footage from the Tom Lantos Tunnel which Patel drove through before the crash shows that Patel's Tesla drove straight off the cliff without applying brakes or attempting to swerve for safety. "Without getting into too much detail…there was no weaving back-and-forth, there appeared to be nothing mechanically wrong going on with the vehicle, there were no tail lights ignited, there were no braking … or skidding," Wagstaffe said in respect of what witnesses had described.

After previously being declined to enter a plea, Patel will be doing so on Thursday, February 9, and is currently being held without bail. On Tuesday, January 3, California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer Mark Andrew expressed that he did not believe the Tesla was on autopilot at the time of the crash, as per Fox News. 

'This was an absolute miracle'

First responders noticed that victims were still moving inside the car after arriving at the scene of the crash that took place on Monday, January 2. They used a "jaws of life" tool to pull the two children out of the vehicle while Patel and his wife were pulled from the vehicle's windows. "We go there all the time for cars over the cliff, and they never live. This was an absolute miracle," Brian Pottenger, a battalion chief for Coastside Fire Protection District/Cal Fire, remarked after the crash. At the moment, the investigators are examining if there happens to be any mechanical issue in the Tesla which could strengthen the defense's argument in court. Moreover, Californian Police believe that Patel’s actions were, in fact, “intentional.”